


forgeries, forgetfulness, and forgiveness

by chivalrousamour



Series: accidental v3 au series i guess [2]
Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Action & Romance, Akamatsu Kaede has ADHD and you can pry this headcanon from my cold dead hands, Established Relationship, Fluff, Multi, direct sequel to another fic i guess, does it count as canon divergence if i dont remember the canon?, ignoring dr3, please just dont read without the prequel, this. happened?, unreliable author
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-19
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2020-07-08 07:40:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 45
Words: 77,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19865929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chivalrousamour/pseuds/chivalrousamour
Summary: Kaede was optimistic. To a fault, even, something her friends and boyfriend/sort of fiancé made very explicit to her.And yet, not even she could find the good side in this entire situation."Kokichi, for the love of everything that matters, please tell me that youhaven't been kidnapped.""Well, I could, but that would be a lie. Sorry Kaede, looks like I won't be home in time for dinner!""KOKICHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII—!"





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> who let me do this

"Kokichi and I wanted to announce something to all of you," Kaede told her friends, grinning widely as she held his hand. "Truth is, we're—"

"Dating, right?" Kirumi interrupted, slicing up apples for a light snack for everyone to eat during work.

"Does this mean I lost the bet?" Shuuichi asked.

"There was a bet going on about us dating?" Kaede asked. 

"Actually, Saihara-chan, you won over Shinguuji-chan, but not Momota-chan or Harukawa-chan," Kokichi piped up to add.

"I see," Korekiyo said, playing a card game with Rantarou, accepting his loss graciously as Maki and Kaito high-fived.

"There was a bet going on about us dating and you _knew?!"_ Kaede amended.

"I cast a silence spell on him so he couldn't," Himiko stated.

"Tenko was also there, backing up Yumeno-san's spell!"

"Gonta told them that betting was not very gentleman-like..."

"Angie congratulates you on your healthy union!"

"We're not married!" Kaede protested.

"Yet," Kokichi added.

"When's my godkid gonna come out?" Miu asked. "I'm fully expecting to help raise a boy _and_ a girl, by the way."

"I... wait, wait, we're not—" Kaede was overheating.

"Do we congratulate them on dating before jumping to children?" Kiibo asked.

"Yeah," Rantarou agreed. "All jokes aside, we're happy for you two. Hope you're happy together."

"Congrats," Ryoma said with all the wisdom of a proud father.

"Thank you!" Kaede replied with a bright grin.

"I knew you two were gonna fuckin' wind up together, even in the simulation."

"Congratulations!"

"Good job!"

"Invite me to the wedding, alright, you guys?!" Kaito exclaimed, making Kokichi laugh.

"I'm glad," Shuuichi said.

It was amazing, to have the full support of their friends moving forward. The two of them continued to work with everyone to fix the world under the flag of the Future Foundation, and, while they hit their ups and downs along the way, there was nothing too major. That was the happy end they reached through their own hope and determination.

...was what Kaede thought, up until Kokichi went missing.

She absolutely freaked out when Byakuya Togami, one of her boss's colleagues, came back from a reconnaissance mission in Towa saying that the employee he borrowed from Makoto (otherwise known as _Kokichi)_ sacrificed himself to protect him, and Kokichi was _still in Towa City at the time of their escape._

It took a week of panicking, fretting, and intervention from her friends to keep Kaede from storming Towa City herself before Kaede got a call from Kokichi.

"Ohmygodareyouokaypleasetellmeyouhaven'tbeenhurtareyoucominghomesoonwhencanIseeyouagainareyousafe—"

"Kaede, breathe," Kokichi's voice instructed her, and Kaede remembered to breathe easy for the first time in an entire week.

"Kokichi. Are you okay?" Kaede asked desperately.

"Well, aside from the kidnapping, yeah."

"What."

"Putting that aside, how are you doing?

"Kokichi, for the love of everything that matters, please tell me that you _haven't been kidnapped."_

"Well, I could, but that would be a lie," Kokichi replied in a cheery tone. "Sorry Kaede, looks like I won't be home in time for dinner!"

"KOKICHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII _IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII—!"_


	2. Chapter 2

_Kaede >>> Kokichi_

* * *

Just to be clear, Kokichi didn't sacrifice himself for anyone. It was more like Byakuya accidentally shoved him in the way during the heat of the moment. Really.

That was the excuse he was going to tell Kaede, because when she found him, she would no doubt yell at him endlessly for getting himself kidnapped because of his self-sacrificial tendencies. (hypocrite) There was no way in hell he was going to tell Kaede that, out of the corner of his eye, with the lights of firearms going off around them, Byakuya's short blonde hair resembled hers just long enough for his body to move without his input.

It was a very dumb stupid move on his part, he was fully willing to admit that. To himself, in complete solitude, but nonetheless, the base situation remained the same.

He had been kidnapped by five children and also Komaeda Nagito, the remnant of despair.

At first, he thought that the presence of five children meant that whoever had ambushed them had messed up and accidentally left him somewhere a child could find him by accident.

And then they started to loudly discuss whether or not he was a demon, as he realized that he was still tied up.

"Look! Do you really think someone with a face this adorbs can be a demon!?" a pink-haired girl screamed.

"It could be a mimic. Be careful," a blue-haired boy replied.

"Even if it is a mimic, I'll smash it!" a red-haired boy declared.

"Maybe it's just a taller kid...?" a green-haired girl wondered out loud.

"I wonder if tearing his face off would help... if you could see the truth under his skin..." a masked boy suggested, only for the others to mostly ignore that.

Kokichi was mostly looking around and kind of filtering out their conversation at that point, because knowing the situation was rather helpful when it came to escaping.

And then he spotted a head of white hair.

Squinting, Kokichi realized that it was a member of SHSL Despair. 

Now, Kokichi would never admit it to 99.99% of the population, but he actually had a soft spot for his friends. A very small spot that was only marginally softer than it would be for anyone else, but it was still there.

So when he spotted Komaeda Nagito, aka the guy who killed Rantarou's sisters, his first instinct was to punch him.

And so, he interrupted the children to ask, "hey, quick question? Can you untie me?"

"Why would we let you do that?" the blue-haired boy asked warily. "So you can escape?"

"A demon who begs for mercy, huh..." the red-haired boy added.

"No, you can tie me back up right after," Kokichi said bluntly. "I just need to punch that guy first."

All of the children turned to look at Komaeda, who laughed and waved.

"Yeah, that's the guy," Kokichi confirmed. 

The pink-haired girl immediately cut him free.

"Thank you~!"

Now, Komaeda was saying something about approaching the garbage, but Kokichi wasn't listening. Kokichi rushed as quickly as his legs would allow, punching the white-haired boy in the stomach. When he doubled over in pain, Kokichi drove his other fist into his face, causing Komaeda to collapse to the ground.

"Ah, I punched him twice," he said blandly.

"Wooooahhhhh!!!!!" 

And then he heard applause.

"Not bad..." Blue Cat Ears said appraisingly.

"He's got keen demon-hunting instincts!!" Little Red exclaimed excitedly.

"He could replace me..." Mask Kid said.

"We gotta keep him!" Pink Demon Horns declared, before turning to the green-haired girl in a wheelchair. "Can we, Monaka-chan?!"

"Tall Kid-kun, please join our mission to exterminate all the demons!" Monaka requested.

Kokichi looked down at the five children, with their eyes full of admiration and expectation, and...

"No way. Sounds boring."

...refused outright.


	3. Chapter 3

"What!? How could you?! You big meanie!" Monaka began to hiccup, but Kokichi was very unimpressed by her fake tears.

"You... how dare you make Monaka-chan cry!?"

"Filthy demon!"

 _'Argh, jeez, this is why I don't like kids,'_ Kokichi thought, before getting an idea.

He'd show them what _real_ crocodile tears looked like.

"B-b-bwaaaaaa _aaaaaaaa_ —!" He burst into tears, stunning the kids. "You say that, but I just woke up tied up... with no idea who you are or what's happening! I don't want to be forced into your _scary_ game! Being forced to do something I hate seems more demonic than anything!"

Four out of five children flinched at that.

_'So that's your weak point, huh. You're scared of becoming the things you hate?'_

Kokichi met Monaka's eyes, finding an odd expression in them, before the others began to talk.

"We got too ahead of ourselves...! I apologize," Blue Cat Ears stated. "Let us introduce ourselves."

"First up, the hero and leader, Daimon Masaru!"

"The cutie-pie fighter, Utsugi Kotoko!"

"A-ah, did we have an order for this...? I'm the priest, Kemuri Jataro—"

"The sage, Shingetsu Nagisa, at your service."

"And Monaka, the mage!"

"Together, we are... the Warriors of Hope!"

Kokichi applauded, causing Kotoko to curtsy with a laugh.

"Our goal is to make a children's paradise, free from the influences of the demons known as adults," Nagisa stated. 

"We get to play with _massive_ robots and Monokuma and Monokuma kids!" Masaru declared. "They're like a hundred feet high!"

Kokichi put on an amazed face, inwardly wondering if this kid knew how feet worked.

"Yep, we're gonna kill 'em all!" Kotoko exclaimed. "Every terrible parent, every bad teacher, every awful sibling, we'll destroy them all to bits!"

"Do you want to join us now?" Monaka asked. "We'll let you have your own robot and have some cookies!"

The others gasped at Monaka offering her cookies so freely.

"Ehhh, but why would I?" Kokichi replied. "I mean, isn't it too much work to kill every last one?"

"Huhhh? Is it like an exercise now? I'm not too good at exercise," Jataro said.

"We're not lazy! Even if it takes all the effort we can make, we'll protect kids like us!" Masaru yelled.

_'It's almost admirable, if not for your terrible methods, actually...'_

"Yeah, but haven't you guys ever played a game?" Kokichi said flippantly, taking note of their reactions. He paid close attention to how Nagisa seemed to stiffen at the word. "Common enemies just respawn all the time! If you waste your time fighting them, you won't get anywhere! The only way to clear the area is to beat the big boss!"

"He's... he's got a point...!" Kotoko gasped.

"Instead of going for small fry, walk up to the boss and spit in his face! That's my Hard Mode philosophy!" Kokichi declared, posing dramatically.

It was almost a little sad how quickly the kids joined him. How desperate were they for someone to guide them...?

Monaka laughed at their antics, and Kokichi quickly caught onto her smile.

Oh, she knew. She knew he was bullshitting everything, and she knew he knew, but she saw no reason to stop him.

"Then, then?! Who would the boss be? Who's the guy we gotta hunt?!" Masaru asked excitedly.

Kokichi grinned, before immediately pointing at the still-downed Nagito.

"That guy! He's only the first boss, so he's a pushover, but don't underestimate him!"

Kokichi almost felt a little bad about four children he unleashed on the guy, but also, the guy was a terrorist, murderer, bomber, and killed his friend's sisters. He deserved it, really.

_'I wonder... could I use them to my advantage?'_

* * *

_Kokichi >>> Kaede_

* * *

"Ah! The transceiver's buzzing!" Kaede exclaimed happily.

She had been working on some papers she brought home from her office, writing out her report of a recent interrogation in the common room shared by the virtual killing game victims.

Kirumi had been sweeping when the excited exclamation came, having been forced home because of her superior's concerns that she was overworking herself. Rantarou and Korekiyo, whose days off happened to coincide with the day, also came over to watch.

Kaede observed carefully as the transceiver gave a series of beeps and chirps, feeling the vibrations with one hand. The other was attempting to translate the message on a piece of scrap paper.

" _'Tell Amami-chan he needs to ..... me_ ', wait, what...?"

"Thank," Korekiyo supplied. As a new member of the information-gathering division, he picked up on secret codes a lot faster than Kaede, whose main job was to convince people to see the point of view of the Future Foundation.

"What did he do for me?" Rantarou asked.

"There's still more to the message," Kirumi observed.

Kaede paused.

"...Shinguuji-kun. Did he say what I think he said?"

"I do believe the message said something along the lines of _'I'm going to outdo you in the adoption department soon, Kaede.'_ "

"...jeez," Kaede said with a sigh. "It's been one day out of three on this mission, and you've already said something crazy."

"Well, it _is_ Ouma-kun," Kirumi pointed out. "Would you expect anything else from him?"

Kaede laughed.

"I suppose not," she said, giving her transceiver a soft smile. "But still... I hope he's doing well and not just messing around."


	4. Chapter 4

"Mmm..." 

"You alright, Akamatsu-san?" Shuuichi asked, handing her a cup of coffee.

The two of them had been working together, with Shuuichi looking to locate an official Kaede needed to convince to reconsider her borderline hoarding of supplies, and had managed to bring their work into the break room as well.

"Ah, sorry. Just got distracted."

"You're waiting for a message from Ouma-kun, right?"

Kaede sighed,

"Sorry it's so obvious. It's just, he promised to send me an update each day to let me know he's alright, so..."

"I'm sure he's fine," Shuuichi told her. "After all, it's Ouma-kun."

"Yeah, you're right."

* * *

_Kaede >>> Kokichi_

* * *

The Warriors of Hope, having been convinced that Kokichi was a wise big brother sent to guide them to the true way to exterminate the source of demons, promptly threw Komaeda (whom they called their servant, apparently) onto the couch, giving Kokichi a quality room with a quality bed.

They completely trusted him, so he could use them to locate the other Remnants of Despair and exterminate them, was what one might think upon hearing that.

Actually, Kokichi found that there were problems with this arrangement.

He did not even want to try to see what happened if he sent messages inside their stronghold. He did not trust their walls, nor did he like how the kids seemed to follow him around a lot.

But, there were only so many times he could pull the _'sneak out the window during a bathroom break'_ trick before the kids started to get suspicious, even without factoring in how much they seemed to like following him around. Not to mention Monaka and the _'Servant's'_ presence...

So, Kokichi had basically resigned himself to possibly missing a day or two of updating Kaede on his status.

And then Monaka entered his room with a bright smile, holding up a dark grey walkie-talkie-looking device.

"Say, Big Bro, did you drop this?" Monaka asked innocently.

"Huuuuh? I never saw that before in my life," Kokichi replied instantly.

"Whaaaaat? But it's Future Foundation, and no one in the Warriors of Hope would _ever_ associate with such a terrible organisation..."

Kokichi kept a smile on his face, figuring that what Monaka wanted to see was a sign that he was trying to stay calm and hide his cracking demeanour.

His thoughts, however...

_'She's keeping up an act. But I already know, and she knows that. So there has to be someone else she's acting for. Listening and judging.'_

"Monaka-chan, it's so impressive that you know such big words! You really are a genius!"

Monaka laughed.

"Monaka is really happy you said that, Big Bro!"

_'We're appraising each other. Trying to figure out what the other's aiming for, but...'_

"Let me guess. You want to keep the big bad Future Foundation man away? Kick me out?"

_'You wouldn't have confronted me if you didn't think you had an ace up your sleeve. Do you really think I'll expose my weakness so easily?'_

"Oh, well, Monaka just wanted to know... after all, it _is_ suspicious when Big Bro can't even tell us his name."

 _'Probing. She's trying to put me on the edge, see how I react to pressure. How she can control me,'_ Kokichi noted.

"Nishishishi, you got me! I'm actually the head of the Future Foundation, Naegi Makoto!"

"Nope. Can't be. He's taller."

Kokichi grinned as he saw that Monaka's gaze became inquisitive.

She was intrigued by how, despite her seemingly holding his biggest secret in her hands, he hadn't cracked a bit at all.

In fact, he only seemed to get more and more arrogant.

"To be honest... I don't really _care_ about the Future Foundation, you know," Kokichi told her. "I'm mostly working for my own amusement, buuut, this doesn't seem too interesting either."

 _'No reaction from the spectators...'_ He noted, listening carefully without acting it. _'Strange, the other kids wouldn't be able to keep their mouths shut about me being Future Foundation... unless, they're not listening?'_

His mind immediately jumped to Komaeda.

_'But, what could she be doing that she'd go to the **Servant** over her friends to back her up...?'_

"Is that so...?" Monaka asked slowly.

Kokichi could practically see the gears spinning in her head.

"I'm not too opposed to joining you, though, as long as you can keep me entertained."

_'After all, the reason you went to confront me instead of instantly trying to kill me was because you thought I could be a potential **ally** , right?'_

"Monaka understands. Monaka's Big Sis got bored so easily, just like Big Bro..."

"I didn't know you had a sister, Monaka-chan!"

 _'Actually... I think I have an idea of what **my** ace in the sleeve is,' _Kokichi thought with a wide smile.

_'The Monokumas. The presence of a Remnant of Despair in the group. Your big sis...'_

"But, well, maybe I do know her a little bit after all."

Monaka paused, giving the slightest hint of leeway, of an opportunity Kokichi could use.

"I mean, I'm dating a girl known as Enoshima Junko the Second!"

Monaka froze completely.

Kokichi laughed as he went on.

"You can't deny that it's a great idea, right? If Naegi Makoto is strong enough to beat us at full strength, then instead of fighting it head on and wasting your energy, get on his side! Manipulate him into moving as we wish, all while acting the part of the friend! We can even tear apart the Future Foundation, too!"

"You..."

"Hey, I might not seem like it, but I'm a good boyfriend, okay? Whatever makes her happy makes me happy, even if it means destroying people."

Kokichi offered his hand to Monaka with a jester's smirk.

"So, what d'ya say, wanna work together?"

Monaka laughed as she shook his hand.

"You're interesting, Big Bro! Let's do our best!"

She turned back to her innocent smile at the second bit, something Kokichi found interesting.

As she left, she threw the object she snatched over her shoulder at him, telling him that she'd let him send messages with impunity.

Kokichi thanked her, waiting until he was sure he was completely alone to attempt it.

"Honestly," Kokichi muttered to himself, taking out a brightly-coloured toy phone from the inside of his suit jacket. He cracked it open at a hidden seam to reveal his _actual_ communicator. "You'd think a kid like her could recognize a toy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i cant believe ouma managed to convince monaka hes on her side and loves junko without actually explaining his goals or what the hell he means by junko the second


	5. Chapter 5

_Kokichi >>> Kaede_

* * *

Kaede's folder fell to the floor when she heard those words, scattering papers all over. 

She knew she dropped it, she knew she should have cared, but...!

"T-Togami-san," she addressed her boss's colleague with a shuddering voice, "what do you mean Kokichi is...?"

"He was separated from us in an ambush," Togami stated once again. Despite his stoic tone, his gaze almost seemed... sympathetic. "His location is still unverified, though we're working on a way of getting him out."

Kaede's breathing was going wonky, her heart misfiring in her chest as tears began to fill her eyes.

"Go home and rest," Togami ordered, despite technically not having any authority over her. "You won't get any work done like this."

Kaede nodded, her body feeing numb.

"Don't worry about it. I owe him, so as a Togami, I'm obligated to repay him."

Kaede walked away, but her mind was anywhere but with her feet. 

She wound up in an empty meeting room, shutting the door behind her as she started to cry.

_'Kokichi... are you safe right now? Are they hurting you? Please, be okay...!'_

* * *

_Kaede >>> Kokichi_

* * *

"Look, Jataro-kun, I made a mask just like yours!" Kokichi declared, holding up his clown mask.

Jataro gasped at the sight.

He was prepared for any scenario, even the relatively obscure ones that required him to have a clown mask on him at any time.

"Ehhhh, but that doesn't even _look_ like Snake-kun's mask," Kotoko pointed out.

"It's still a mask, though..." Nagisa said.

"Why use a mask to hide your face? Isn't that what bad guys do?" Masaru asked, despite Jataro being right there.

"If you consider me a bad guy, sure," Kokichi said flippantly. "But, you know, even superheroes wear masks. To keep bad guys from endangering them, and to look cool, too! In fact, it might be the most important part of a hero's costume!"

"You mean... my mask is like a hero's...?"

The other three gasped.

When Monaka wheeled herself in, she found Kotoko, Masaru, and Nagisa making themselves masks with Jataro's help.

Before Monaka could even begin to throw a tantrum over the others leaving her out, Kokichi instantly thanked her for baking her cookies for everyone, then asked if she wanted to make a mask with the entire group.

She pretty much had to agree at that point.

* * *

_Kokichi >>> Kaede_

* * *

"What are you _doing_?!" Miu demanded angrily.

"I can't just leave Kokichi to die, can I!?" Kaede screamed in return, having been in the process of shoving food and weapons into a bag for her to bring to Towa City.

Basically, she cried in the meeting room until she suddenly got the idea to save Kokichi, at which point she charged into their living quarters and raided the kitchen for knives.

There were three people home at the time.

Miu had been working on her prototype for a hacking gun in real life, as it would be useful in hijacking despair broadcasts and weaponry. She had a free pass to work on her inventions wherever she wanted, as long as she handed in the results.

Maki had just come home from a recon mission and a visit to the children, as the Future Foundation wanted her to put both her assassin skills and childcare skills to good use.

And Himiko, well, her job was to use magic to drum up morale. She was pretty much allowed to do anything she wanted.

All three of them had to tackle Kaede and keep her from doing the absolutely harebrained stupid action of charging Towa city with a backpack of knives.

"Transceiver," Miu demanded, holding out her hand. 

Kaede pouted as she handed it over, having been told to stay in her chair and stay put.

Miu instantly began to mess with it, already sending out a coded message to Kokichi demanding _what the hell he was doing_.

"Akamatsu, I cannot stress this enough," Maki stated, "but you cannot possibly take on a group that managed to ambush an entire armed Future Foundation squad alone. Don't be stupid."

"What am I supposed to do, then...?" Kaede asked in a breathless whisper. "What am I supposed to do if he's just missing?!"

"Calm down," Himiko said, taking off her hat so she could place Kaede's hand on her head. "You can't just rush in and get yourself killed. He'd never forgive himself if he lost you again."

Kaede let out a shaky sob.

"Hey, it's not that we're saying you can't do shit, but... you gotta think it through a bit more, got it?" Miu spoke up. 

"....okay."

"C'mon! You have a genius inventor on your side, so quit being so damn gloomy! I'll find a way to make things work!"

"I wouldn't mind helping out in my own way, I guess," Maki added.

"Don't worry. My magic will help."

"Guys... thank you," Kaede said with a smile, just as a reply played on the transceiver.

Kaede jumped for it, before Maki shoved her back into the chair. Himiko was confused, since she didn't know any of the code, while Miu... turned bright red.

"What the hell did you tell him," Maki demanded flatly, having already been familiar with codes from her work as an assassin.

"I, well, I said... _'if you make it out alive, Akamatsu'll let you do to her what she does to the piano...'_ " Miu answered. "Bu-but that _answer!"_

"What? What did he say?" Himiko asked.

"It's fine! You don't have to know!" Miu screamed. "It's just the most Ouma answer you can think of!"

"Kokichi..."

"At least we know he's okay, if he can joke around like that," Maki said with a sigh. "Ask him about the situation."

"I'm on it, I'm on it."

The answer they received...

"Fuckton of Monokuma combat robots, five giant controlled robots, and a shithellwagonload of explosive controlling Monokuma masks ready to be used?!"

"Are they planning on levelling an entire city...?!" Maki asked in horror.

"No good, no good, no good...!" Kaede muttered anxiously. "We have to—!"

"He's saying he's still gathering info," Miu stated. "But still..."

"What kind of terrible people has he gotten himself mixed up with...?" Himiko asked.

* * *

_Kaede >>> Kokichi_

* * *

"You're evil...!" Masaru screamed.

"How could you...! Keeping all of Monaka-chan's cookies to yourself!" Nagisa added.

"Ehhh, isn't it just training for being a super awesome hero who hides her identity?" Kotoko replied.

While those three were squabbling, Kokichi was drawing with Monaka and Jataro, all while feeling the silent movements of his transceiver and mentally translating it.

_'Stay safe. Akamatsu's worked herself into a panic over you, plus, we don't want you dead either.'_

Honestly, Kokichi almost forgot what it felt like to have someone worry about his wellbeing.

With DICE, well, everyone was loyal to each other, ready to defend each other with their lives if they had to, because they were the only ones who would look out for each other. Even so, there were times when you looked the other way. Kokichi himself had to ignore a few growing bruises, just because it was clear they didn't want to talk. They extended the same curtesy to him, the unspoken rule of _'don't ask, don't care.'_

Kokichi was fine with setting his problems aside with a smile. He was fine with danger. It just raised the stakes of the game. If he could talk his way out of anything, then it was fine to join the other side just to see if they were more interesting.

If everyone distrusted him anyways, he could lie and cheat as much as he wanted. If he didn't trust anyone, he never had to worry about being betrayed.

But Kaede and the others...

 _'Having something to go back to really changes you, huh?'_ Kokichi thought, grinning as he signed his work with dramatic flair and a pink crayon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the transceiver can be muted to avoid accidentally making sounds in the middle of a thing.


	6. Chapter 6

Kokichi's week involved learning how to placate the kids and learning more about their ultimate plan. This involved piggyback rides, drawing, and playing hero games.

And also lessons?

"This is our plan for the Monokuma helmets," Nagisa concluded, standing before a blackboard. The rest of them were sitting at desks before him, aside from Komaeda, who was forced to sit in the corner. "Any questions?"

Kokichi was the only one who raised his hand, because the other "students" were either asleep (Masaru), using their pencil as a moustache (Kotoko), doodling (Jataro), or the one who made the plan in the first place (Monaka)

"Yes?"

"You kinda skipped over how you'd get every kid in Towa to wear the helmets," Kokichi pointed out, "so I'm kinda curious."

"Oh, oh, it's a game of..." Kotoko paused for dramatic effect. "Manhunt!"

"The five of us will each get a few kids to wear one, then those kids will make other kids wear 'em, until the whole city's Monokuma-fied!" Masaru declared.

"Sounds like a zombie movie," Kokichi stated.

"No... our masks don't bite... but if they did, only one side would hurt," Jataro said.

"I've starred in a few zombie movies myself, and the zombies are just _soo_ ugly! Awful and uncute! Not at all like Monokuma!"

"So yeah, why do you want all the kids to wear masks again, anyways?" Kokichi asked.

"It's impossible to do friendly fire on someone who's clearly on your side!" Masaru declared. 

"But you're using giant robots. There's no way giant robots will not hurt everyone nearby, even if they're wearing a mask."

When the other four paused, Monaka spoke up.

"There's also the fact that standing up to demons is scary... that's why, our helmets will give a sense of unity! They will help everyone work together by making you feel like you're part of a group! That's what Monaka believes!"

Kokichi stared at her for a good three seconds as the other kids cheered, when Komaeda the servant spoke up from the corner he had been banished to.

"Not only that, but the hope that will emerge from the despair of killing your own parents would be lovely, right? If there are any hopeful kids amongst the brainwashed, their true potential will be allowed to come to light...!"

"Did he just say brainwashed?" Kokichi asked, just as Masaru and Kotoko threw something at Komaeda. These things were a chair and a desk respectively.

"I-ignore him, Big Bro!" Masaru said hurriedly. "You know Servant is weird, right!"

"Yeah, yeah, let's talk about something else!" Kotoko screamed. "Like, um, what's your star sign?! I'm a gemini!"

"Cancer?" Kokichi answered, noting the brainwashing down as something to tell the others about.

"Then, then, do you have a girlfriend or something?!"

"What? How would he have a girlfriend?" Nagisa asked. "Don't be absurd."

"I definitely can't see Big Bro dating anyone," Masaru said.

"Someone who can see good in a person like me... is definitely so good they'll suffer, so there's no way," Jataro added.

Monaka laughed internally as Kotoko went on.

"Ah, yeah, that was a silly question... then, do you like—"

"I have a girlfriend," Kokichi stated.

He was immediately met with four shocked gasps and one very good faked gasp, and he wondered what the hell these kids thought of him.

"What? You want me to prove it or something?"

* * *

_Kokichi >>> Kaede_

* * *

Kaede's week since learning of Kokichi's disappearance involved working together with her friends to prepare a full 14 person infiltration mission of Towa City. This involved helping Miu make more hacking guns, Rantarou stealing a few vehicles from the division of transportation, and Kirumi making food to eat on the way.

Kokichi's messages were either teasing or short snippets of information about the situation, but each short snippet just made her more and more anxious!

She wanted to know if he was okay, at least, instead of having some message about how he was going to lie his way out of everything... if only she could hear his voice...

That was what she thought before she heard the sound of her communicator going off. Not the one they used for coded messages, but the actual screen-to-screen audiovisual communicator!

"Aaawaawaaa, where is it, where is it..?!!" She immediately dove to look through her backpack from force of habit, having forgotten that she had emptied it to fill it with knives.

"You handed it to me to take care of," Kaito said, passing her the communicator.

"Thank you!"

The others shuffled to be as far as possible to allow them their privacy. 

Kaede scrambled to turn it on, each second being one too many.

When she saw his face, her eyes immediately began to water. 

She didn't even wait until he said hi to start babbling.

"Ohmygodareyouokaypleasetellmeyouhaven'tbeenhurtareyoucominghomesoonwhencanIseeyouagainareyousafe—"

"Kaede, breathe," Kokichi's voice instructed her, and Kaede remembered to breathe easy for the first time in an entire week.

"Kokichi. Are you okay?" Kaede asked desperately.

She felt one of Miu's robot arms reach around to pat her on the back, and she tried to calm herself down.

"Well, aside from the kidnapping, yeah."

"What," Kaede said flatly.

"Putting that aside, how are you doing?" Kokichi asked casually.

"Kokichi, for the love of everything that matters, please tell me that you _haven't been kidnapped,"_ Kaede asked.

"Well, I could, but that would be a lie," Kokichi replied in a cheery tone. "Sorry Kaede, looks like I won't be home in time for dinner!"

"KOKICHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII _IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII—!"_

"Sorry, sorry, I'm a bit busy planning a coup on the Future Foundation with everyone," Kokichi said with the most unfittingly happy smile.

"That's a lie, right?"

"Who knows? I'm a liar, after all."

"Kokichi," Kaede said slowly. "When I see you again, I'm going to kiss you and hug you and cry over you being okay, but first, I'm going to slap you. And then I will slap you again. And if that's not enough, I'm going to punch you in the stomach."

"See?" Kokichi said to people around him. "She really does love me."

He let his communicator down just enough for Kaede to catch a glimpse of the people he was talking to.

"...Kokichi. Are you with children?"

"They're the ones who kidnapped me."

"It's not kidnapping! We just saved Big Bro from that jerk Future Foundation man!" a child with red hair declared.

"You should join us if you really, really love Big Bro, new Big Sis!" a girl with pigtails exclaimed happily.

"The man gets himself kidnapped by twelve year olds," Maki grumbled to herself.

"What is he doing this time...?!" Shuuichi found himself asking.

"Huh? Kaede, you're with Harukawa-chan and Saihara-chan? What are you doing?"

Kaede hesitated, then showed off everyone's faces.

"I can't show Amami-kun, because he's driving, or Toujou-san, because she's riding shotgun."

"Hi anyways," Rantarou said from the front.

"Kaede. What are you doing," Kokichi demanded flatly.

"It's a road trip!" Angie declared.

"Please consider this your chance to introduce all of us to your new friends," Kirumi added from her seat.

"Ooooooh! Is Big Bro in trouble now!?" 

"Kotoko-chan, calm down!" a blue-haired boy ordered.

"Are you seriously trying to break into Towa City?!" Kokichi demanded. "Did you convince everyone else to help you?!"

"It was either help her or let her do it alone," Korekiyo stated.

"Gonta and everyone decided to help!" Gonta exclaimed, careful not to disturb the napping Tenko and Himiko.

"Please do not fear, we will do our best to help you!" Kiibo declared.

"I'm not sure what you expected," Kaede admitted. "You are eighty percent of my impulse control."

"I can tell," Kokichi replied.

"You really need to get back and do your job," Miu added, not swearing around the kids who were apparently listening. "It's _hard_ to keep her from doing stupid things."

"So Big Sis and all her friends are coming to meet us!" a green-haired girl exclaimed happily. "Let's give them a warm welcome!"

"Yeah!!!!!" 

"By the way, are we never going to address that coup against the Future Foundation thing...?" Rantarou asked, just as Kokichi hung up to calm down the kids with both hands.

There was a moment of silence, before Ryoma spoke up.

"Akamatsu, you doin' alright?"

"I'm going to kill him."

"I figured."


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i forgot to mention this but please imagine that himiko hit a growth spurt because its the only way to explain how she managed to ride the thing

"Ah, what a warm welcome," Rantarou said casually, looking up at the hordes of Monokuma around the base. "At least they were kind enough to send us the coordinates."

"Is this some sort of test...?" Shuuichi asked.

"Kiibo-kun, can you scout the area from above?" Kaede asked. "Toujou-san, is everyone armed?"

"Of course!"

"I've made sure of it."

Kiibo activated his jetpack feature, launching himself into the air. Miu put on her goggles, seeing everything from his point of view as he explained what he observed of the base's defences.

* * *

"No, that won't do," Komaeda said. "I want to see what you can do in the most unpredictable of circumstances, so please forgive me."

* * *

"K-Kiibo!" Miu screamed. "Get out of there!"

The warning came just in time for missiles to be fired at him, forcing Kiibo to resort to aerial tricks to dodge.

"The Monokuma...!" Tenko called out. "They're charging right at us!"

"Argh, we don't have time to take them all out! We need to charge in and take on the boss!" Kaede declared.

"Any plans?!" Maki demanded, already sniping down a few quick Monokuma.

Ryoma prepped his weighted tennis balls, Angie got her tools, Korekiyo got his rope ready, and Gonta cracked his knuckles...

"I have an idea," Kaede announced, before turning to Rantarou. "How many bikes did you grab?"

"Just enough for us to share," Rantarou replied with a smile.

* * *

"I'm so excited!" Kotoko exclaimed. "Big Bro Kokichi's girlfriend has to be as awesome as he is, right?! This shouldn't be a problem for her!"

The six of them were watching the show on a huge screen

Kokichi took a handful of popcorn Jataro offered, hardly reacting to the words.

"Monaka's curious... just what this new Big Sis can do."

"Ah, yeah, but first, can you shut up the Servant? His ranting's annoying," Kokichi said casually.

"On it!" Masaru replied.

 _'That'll take care of the aerial assault,'_ Kokichi thought. _'The other Monokuma are all melee fighters, so as long as they don't take out the giant robots, Chabashira-chan, Gonta-kun, and Harukawa-chan can handle them.'_

"Huh...? What's she doing...?" Nagisa asked, watching as Himiko climbed on top of the van.

She began chanting, light starting to glow around her...

"Is this magic?!" Jataro gasped in awe.

"What!? Magic!? I wanna see!" Masaru exclaimed excitedly, accidentally dropping Komaeda on the floor in his rush.

"Yep, she's a mage, after all," Kokichi replied.

She stomped her foot, causing the van to roar to life. A tug on a rope yanked her off the vehicle as it charged ahead, Gonta catching her easily.

 _ **'That'll buy us some time!'** _Kaede declared on the screen, as the armoured van charged into the fray with no driver to stop it.

"Clearing a path through the Monokumas with magic...!" Monaka said delightedly.

 _'No, she used Yumeno-chan to distract you guys while she set up a weighted ball on top of the gas pedal and held it in place with Angie-san's tools...'_ Kokichi thought.

Then, using her robot arms to quadruple wield hacking guns, Miu began firing shot after destructive shot into the horde. Her goggles auto-aimed the arms to point right at the Monokumas' red eyes. A laser shot from above kept too many Monokuma from getting close, and Miu gave Kiibo a thumbs-up.

Angie, Maki, Ryoma, and Korekiyo grabbed their hacking guns, moving to back Miu up.

The kids gasped in awe at the abject coolness of it all, right as Kaede caught a helmet from Rantarou.

The van exploded in the midst of the hoard of Monokumas, leaving an empty gap they couldn't fill in time. This had the added bonus of giving Kaede an explosion in the background as she spoke. 

**_'Gonta-kun, Chabashira-san, Momota-kun, keep the long-ranged fighters from being overwhelmed! We're going on ahead!'_ **

_**'Roger that!'**_ Kaito replied.

That left Kirumi, Rantarou, Shuuichi, Himiko, and Kaede on the bikes to charge ahead.

Well, to be more accurate, they were motorcycles, but who cared for technicalities?

 ** _"Have any of you ever rode a motorcycle before?!_** " Rantarou asked, realizing that he probably should have asked that before they got on the things.

 ** _"It's just a bike but faster, right?!"_** Kaede replied.

 ** _"Wait, no, Akamatsu—"_** Shuuichi's warning was cut off by Kaede charging on ahead, much too fast for any beginner to attempt.

 ** _"We don't have time to learn! Let's go!"_** Kirumi added, driving on just behind Kaede.

 ** _"Ah man, you guys really do rush too much..."_** Himiko said with a sigh, speeding up behind them.

 ** _"Come on, Saihara-kun, we don't want to leave you behind!"_** Rantarou declared.

Shuuichi followed after Rantarou with a weary sigh, very much wondering how he got dragged into these things.

"They're making their way through the crowd!" Kotoko cheered. "Holy cow! This is like an action movie!!"

"But, there's still a bit more before the door..." Nagisa whispered, totally invested. "How will they get past those?!"

"C'mon, Kaede... just a little bit more..."

Everyone's questions were answered when Kaede used the flaming wreckage of the van as a ramp, soaring into the air above the robots.

This was an accident, by the way.

It was also an accident how she lost grip of her motorcycle, making it fall in a separate arc much faster than her, and how it crashed through the third story window of the Towa Hills base.

What wasn't an accident, however, was how she rolled upon landing to negate the fall damage she should have taken, because Future Foundation members were given training on how to deal with disorienting situations such as suddenly falling or getting into a fight.

But the knives falling out of her backpack at an angle and striking down a few Monokuma in hiding? That wasn't an accident, that was pure luck.

"Interesting..." Komaeda muttered to himself. "If this is the power of Enoshima the second, then the hope that'll come from defeating her..."

"Monaka wants Servant-san to stop talking!"

"Ahahaha, alright."

Kaede shrugged off her backpack, just as Kirumi crashed through the window behind her. Swerving to a perfect stop, Kirumi said, **_"it seems you've unexpectedly got yourself into trouble, huh?"_**

Kaede grinned, even as the light of more Monokuma bots came from the hallway.

 ** _"Whoops,"_ **Himiko called out, grabbing onto her hat as she jumped off her motorcycle, the vehicle crashing into the bots with another fiery explosion.

 _ **"Geez, we're gonna get in so much trouble for damages when we get back,"** _Rantarou said with a laugh as he rolled to a stop inside.

 _" **I want all of you to know that you're insane,"** _Shuuichi started off, despite also coming in through the window, **_"and I have no idea why I keep letting you people talk me into these things."_**

Kaede laughed, before hopping into Shuuichi's seat.

**_"I shoot, you drive, got it?"_ **

Shuuichi sighed as he agreed, Himiko making her way onto Kirumi's seat.

The five of them drove off, as Himiko checked the coordinates they'd been handed.

**_"Weird... They're supposed to be right behind this part, but Kiibo's map just says the only thing up here is the roof... did they tell us to jump off the roof?"_ **

_**"Let's find out!"**_ Kaede declared, prompting Shuuichi to crash through the door to the roof.

 _ **"Couldn't we have just opened the door?!"** _Shuuichi demanded as chips of wood collided with the windshield.

**_"Absolutely not!"_ **

Kokichi slapped a hand to his forehead, right as the Warriors of Hope gasped.

"I can see her! She's actually out the window!" Masaru declared, running to the glass and pressing himself against it for a better view.

"Woah...!"

"How's she gonna make it onto the airship?!" Jataro asked excitedly.

And that was when Komaeda laughed.

"Kiibo-kun, over here!"

"Incredible! So strong...! It'd be an insult to make them face nothing but common, worthless enemies, right?! A grand despair must be met with a grand hope!"

"What?!" Kokichi demanded. "What the hell are you saying!?"

"Come on, you must all be curious!" Komaeda turned to address the children. "How your new sister will fare in a boss battle against all of you... whether you are stronger... come on! Why not use the mechas you worked so hard to create?! It's only right to have a dramatic climax!"

"I... wanna see it...! How they'll do against my robot...!" Masaru admitted. 

And that was when Kokichi noticed something.

"Hold on," he said, pulling the kids away from the window and opening it.

This was done just in time for Kaede to enter with a flying kick, carried in by Kiibo. She accidentally nailed Komaeda in the face, knocking him to the floor and into an entirely black Monokuma, who exploded.

Kiibo did a U-turn after dropping Kaede off, rushing to help the others.

"It's **over**!" Kaede announced, pulling out her Hacking Gun and pointing it at the group. "Deactivate the Monokumas!"

Jataro's response was to point behind her, where the camera had shifted to show the others.

 _ **"Rest in itty-bitty pieces!"** _Angie screamed with a smile, shooting her way through the crowd with rhythmic movements.

 _ **"How fascinating... it's almost a shame to destroy you!** " _Korekiyo added.

 _ **"I won't let you touch any of them!"** _Ryoma declared, shooting down a Monokuma that would have snuck up on Miu.

**_"Gyahahahahahaha! Is this all?! I'm pulverizing you at this rate, weaklings!"_ **

_**"Quit acting arrogant!"** _Kaito screamed, just as he stabbed through a Monokuma's eye with nothing more than a crowbar he happened to bring along.

**_"Don't worry! Tenko and Gonta-kun will make sure none of you get hurt!"_ **

_**"How annoying... all of you just hurry up and die!"** _Maki tossed her Hacking Gun away to pull out a crossbow.

The crowd of Monokumas, which had seemed so large and indomitable before, was now small enough to fit into the average high school classroom.

"Ah, it seems like the others are fine," Kaede said.

"Kaede, back up a little," Kokichi instructed, pulling the kids back.

"Hm, why?" Kaede asked, having already done it the moment he asked.

And then Kirumi crashed through the window, motorcycle and all, Rantarou and Himiko riding with her.

"...I'm not sure why you thought you could make that jump, or how you were right," Shuuichi said, getting carried over by Kiibo, "but never do that again. I almost had a heart attack."

"Sorry we were too impatient to wait for Kiibo-kun," Rantarou replied casually.

"Oh my god," Kotoko gasped.

"So cool!!!!!" Masaru screamed.

"Big Bro Kokichi's friends are amazing...!" Jataro exclaimed.

"Shingetsu-kun! The Monokumas! Turn them off!" Monaka ordered. Nagisa immediately went to do that.

"H-huh?" Kaede reacted with complete confusion as Kotoko, Masaru, Jataro, and Monaka swarmed her.

"Ah," Rantarou said, noticing Komaeda's presence. "Ouma-kun. Is this what I had to thank you for?"

"Yeah, he got a ton of bruises 'cuz of me," Kokichi replied with a laugh.

"You really aren't acting like someone who just got kidnapped," Shuuichi said tiredly.

"Man, I can't believe that just happened..." Himiko said. "Makes me wanna take a year-long nap."

"You aren't acting like someone who just went on a rescue mission, either," Kirumi noted.

"Hold on!!!" Kaede screamed, overwhelmed by the baby swarm. "I'm sorry, but do you mind if I just... say hi to Kokichi for a second?"

She was polite despite them being kidnappers, because she had been taught to be polite.

This politeness led to Monaka politely accepting, moving over to the controls so she could direct the airship to pick up the rest of the group.

"Hey, babe!" Kokichi greeted her happily, just as Kaede slapped him in the face.

And again, and a punch to the arm too.

They didn't hurt nearly as much as they ought to, considering that Kaede once slapped Kiibo so hard his head came off, so Kokichi stared at her in a bit of shock.

Her head was lowered, voice choked up as she said, "never do that again."

"Hm?"

"If you disappear on me again, and don't even bother telling me you're in danger... I'll kill you! I'll kill you myself!" Kaede exclaimed.

Kokichi's answer was to laugh, because there was no way he could take a crying woman's threats seriously.

"I mean it! I mean it, you know?! I won't let you die like that!" Kaede screamed, holding him desperately.

She sank to her knees, so Kokichi knelt down to hug her back.

"I know, I know, so calm down. I'm okay."

"You promise?! You're not hurt?!"

"Nope, not at all, okay?" Kokichi waited for Kaede to nod before asking, "what about you?"

"He really is dating Big Sis Junko...!" Kotoko gasped, only to be shushed by Nagisa.

"...Kokichi," Kaede said flatly, eyes narrowed. "Explain."

Kokichi replied by pressing a kiss to her lips, making the kids recoil in disgust at the mushiness. He used this window of opportunity to whisper, "so I _might_ have gotten them to spare me by telling them all that you were Enoshima the second."

Kaede had a completely blank expression on her face as the kids started asking questions about Kiibo in the background.

"Also, the white-haired guy believes it too, and he's a Remnant of Despair. You acting like Enoshima might be the only thing that could keep him in line."

"Kokichi. Why did you do this."

"To survive long enough to marry you?"

"...you smooth bastard."

Kokichi laughed, and Kaede started to laugh with him.

The others entered to find Kiibo being harassed by five children, Rantarou tying up a weird white-haired guy with wires pried out of an all-black Monokuma with a hat, Kirumi trying to clean up a window as Shuuichi tried to repair it, Himiko napping on the floor, and Kaede and Kokichi hugging each other.

And then Monaka locked the doors and started flying the airship directly to the Future Foundation headquarters.

Because this was the sort of thing that just happened to these kids now.


	8. Chapter 8

"You take time off without permission, steal Future Foundation weaponry and vehicles, destroy a van and two motorcycles, charge into Towa City despite being fully aware of the mission to rescue Ouma-kun, and to top it all off, you raise a huge fuss by returning to the Future Foundation _in an airship_ , having captured a Remnant of Despair and five children who were attempting mass murder in Towa City," Kirigiri Kyouko recapped with a cold tone of voice.

"...pretty much, yeah," Kaede replied.

"Well, it _worked_ , didn't it?" Miu added.

The fifteen of them were currently being lectured for their terrible decision-making. Technically, Kokichi didn't have to be there, but he wanted to. They sat in front of Kyouko's desk, two rows of chairs laid out for them.

"Do you realize that your reckless actions could have gotten people killed, as well as potentially worsen the situation in Towa City?" Kyouko asked.

"Yes," Kaede answered. "I am fully aware of the consequences of my actions, and accept full responsibility for this. If there's anyone you should punish, it should be me."

"Bullshit! We're the ones who chose to join in!" Kaito exclaimed.

"It's only right that, if you were to cast one into hell, you cast them all," Korekiyo added.

"As admirable as the sentiment is, none of you are getting punished," Kyouko stated.

"What?" Gonta asked.

"Togami-kun went to higher ups to argue on your behalf," Kyouko said with a slight grin. "To even out the score."

Kokichi perked up a little at those words.

"So we're not in trouble!" Tenko declared happily.

"How delightful!" Angie added.

"Hold on. Don't celebrate just yet," Kyouko told them. "There's a catch."

"Of course there is," Kokichi said, rolling his eyes.

"In exchange for pardoning your crimes, the fifteen of you will have to capture the remaining Remnants of Despair. You'll be allowed access to whatever information, weaponry, tools, or method of transportation you need for the task."

She slid over a folder, Rantarou immediately reaching out for it and passing the contents around the group.

"Hey, what'll happen to the kids?" Kokichi asked.

"They'll be sent to the rehabilitation and education facility," Kyouko answered. "Why?"

"'cause they were instructed by Enoshima and guided by one of her despairs, so I think they're a very valuable source of information," Kokichi stated.

"I'll see what I can do about their arrangements, but each of you will be responsible for ensuring the safety and security of the Future Foundation."

Kokichi grinned.

"Thanks a ton, Kirigiri-chan!"

"Welcome back," Kyouko said. "I trust that you'll be able to do it. You are all dismissed."

The group thanked her for her time, before Kyouko called out to Kaede.

"You have friends who would throw themselves into hell for you. Take care not to lead them there."

With a somber expression, Kaede nodded, just as Kokichi returned to grab her hand and yank her back towards the group.

Kyouko hummed at the sight.

"Maybe I don't need to worry about her after all..."

* * *

"Big Bro Kokichi...?" 

The former Warriors of Hope had been sitting outside in the waiting room. The others weren't quite sure how to handle the situation, and let the kids gravitate towards Kokichi.

"What's gonna happen to us?" Kotoko asked. "Are we just gonna stay with the demons?"

"Well, you can if you want to," Kokichi said, kneeling down to look the kids in the eye, "but there are two choices."

"First, you can choose to join their rehabilitation and education program," Kokichi stated. "You'll get the chance to be normal kids and make friends with other kids. I'll even do my best to make sure your teacher is someone I approve of."

"Or?" Monaka asked.

"Or you can stay with us," Kokichi said. "As weird as everyone is, they're not bad people. I can honestly say that. The only thing is, you need to tell us all about Enoshima and what you know of her group."

Giving the children an innocent smile, he asked, "what will you choose?"

"Staying with you guys, duh!" Masaru declared. "You're all like action heroes! Going boom, bang, pow!"

"I'd much rather stay with this group," Nagisa added.

"Hooray!! We get to stay with Big Bro Kokichi!" Kotoko exclaimed.

"We... can stay!" Jataro said happily.

"Alright then!"

And then Kokichi took Nagisa's hand and gave it to Miu.

"Eh?" Miu replied, as Kokichi went to give Masaru to Rantarou.

"I thought you wanted to raise a kid. It's a group effort," Kokichi replied.

"Angie will do her best!" Angie exclaimed upon being handed Kotoko.

"If this is what Big Bro wants..." Nagisa muttered.

"And Jataro-chan..." Kokichi paused.

"Is your mask... also like a hero?" Jataro asked, looking up at Korekiyo.

"Kukuku, there are many uses for a mask. If you are curious, I can explain in more detail..."

Now, Kokichi might have made an inward exception to the hatred for murderers for Maki and Korekiyo, since, Maki was forced into it and Korekiyo kinda had a point that death might have been better than staying in the world after the tragedy, but, well...

That didn't mean Kokichi would just trust a child around Korekiyo. Korekiyo outright told them all that he would kill them if he ever felt that death was better than continuing to live on.

"Chabashira-san... look after those two, okay?" 

"O-okay?"

That left Monaka.

"Well, I'll let you guys rest for now, so let the others show you where we sleep," Kokichi instructed, taking Kaede's hand and one of Monaka's wheelchair's handlebars.

"Have fun!" Kaede said, waving the others off.

* * *

"Where are you taking Monaka?"

"Just around," Kokichi replied. "I mean, you know more than the others, right?"

Monaka kept silent.

"Hey, it's not like we want to hurt you or anything," Kaede said softly. "You don't have to tell us, but it would be nice if you could."

"...what do you want with Monaka and the others? Just information?"

Kokichi nudged Kaede into answering, which prompted her to blurt out the first thing on her mind.

"I want to be your big sister," Kaede stated, because before, she had been absentmindedly thinking about how cute it was that the kids called Kokichi big brother.

Monaka's reply was just, "huh?"

"I mean, if you'd like, we can do each other's hair!" Kaede scrambled to answer. "I do it with Kokichi all the time, and we can play games, too. Anything you'd like."

"She's not trying to manipulate you or anything," Kokichi added. "She's just this kind of person."

Because he had a theory, and he was curious about it.

Was Monaka just as weak to the idea of having a nice older sibling as the rest of them?

"Uh, I know it sounds weird to be told something like that..." Kaede said, "but I really, really don't want to hurt you. I want to understand you and help you."

"There has to be a catch here," Monaka said. "What do you want?"

"...to brush your hair?"

"You should have asked her to make cookies for you or something," Kokichi stated.

They came to a stop in front of the entrance to the group's living quarters.

"Go on ahead, Kaede, 'kay?"

Kaede gave Kokichi a curious look, before nodding and entering the door.

"You sure you don't want it? A big sister who'll give you lots and lots of affection and attention?" Kokichi asked Monaka with a grin. 

"This... this is too suspicious, isn't it...?" Monaka replied with the voice of a tempted sinner.

"Well, whether you want to believe or not is up to you," Kokichi said. "The only rule in place is for you to be honest with her."

"Not you or anyone else?" Monaka asked.

"I can figure out when you're lying," Kokichi stated, "but if you want someone to be your big sibling, shouldn't you at least be honest with them?"

Monaka was silent as Kokichi opened the door to get the two of them in.

"Wow, you're super strong!" Rantarou applauded in the most older brotherly of ways as Masaru held up a chair, helping Kirumi clean underneath.

"This is no sweat for me!"

"Good job!" Kaede exclaimed, patting Masaru on the head.

"This mask is a copy of a demon's face," Korekiyo said, showing a mask off to Kotoko and Jataro. Angie was carving another one right next to him, while Tenko watched carefully, "Do either of you know what it's called?"

"An adult?" Jataro answered.

"No, no, it's a Hannya mask! Typically used to portray female jealousy!" Kotoko declared.

"Correct. Now, please try and recognize this next one..."

"The theme for this round is..." Miu held up a card for a game, calling out, " _'Paris!'"_

Shuuichi, Gonta, Ryoma, Kaito, and Kiibo all did ridiculous poses. Of particular note was Kaito borrowing Kiibo's antenna to use as a makeshift baguette and Shuuichi deciding to pose as the Eiffel Tower.

"What is the point of this...?" Nagisa asked, watching the game with Maki and Himiko.

"You didn't wanna play, so at least enjoy these guys making fools outta themselves!" Miu ordered.

"Or you could just take a nap..." Himiko offered.

"I'm not carrying anyone to the couch, got it?" Maki made clear.

"You don't want anything like that?" Kokichi asked Monaka once again, just as Kaede noticed them and approached.

"Hey! Everyone's getting along really well!" Kaede exclaimed happily. "I'm glad you made the arrangements, Kokichi."

"Of course, darling!" Kokichi replied in the most over-the-top tone imaginable, making her affectionately roll her eyes.

Monaka tugged on Kaede's hand, prompting the blonde to kneel down to see her face-to-face.

"Yeah? Is something the matter?"

"Please take care of Monaka, Big Sis."

Kokichi grinned, just as Kaede ruffled Monaka's hair.

"Of course!"

It took about three hours for the kids to get tired, at which point Maki started to read them a bedtime story. She threw out the book halfway through when it was clear they were getting bored and let them improvise their own tale, which only got them more worked up.

Kaito and Tenko and Gonta adding in random plot twists was not helping at all.

Eventually, though, Maki managed to get them all asleep on the couch-bed, tucking them in with a sigh.

The group collectively let out a sigh of relief that one evening had passed without incident, and went to go to sleep themselves.

* * *

"I'm glad you're safe, Kokichi," Kaede said with a smile. 

"It's... nice to be back," Kokichi confessed, turning a bit red.

"Yeah, it's been a while since we last slept together," Kaede noted. "I missed you."

This, unfortunately, overloaded Kokichi's brain, because he was not used to this much love and affection at once.

His immediate reply was to laugh and mention something about Miu saying he could do something fun if he survived.

Kaede threw a pillow at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <https://rainbow-unicorn-banzai-party.tumblr.com/post/186430209125/this-is-their-entire-dynamic-in-the-fic-i-wrote-so>  
> take this pls


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i dont know if i tag for canon ptsd but yeah kotoko gets triggered in this chapter so you might wanna watch out for that?

"Mmmm..."

"Morning, sleepyhead," Kokichi greeted Kaede with a grin. 

"It shouldn't be morning. I don't wanna get up," Kaede replied.

"Now you know how I feel!" Kokichi exclaimed, just as Kaede hugged him even tighter, nuzzling his neck.

"Yeah, I think I do... I missed this."

"Want to sleep a bit longer?" Kokichi asked, trying to comb his fingers through Kaede's bedhead.

"Just a little bit," Kaede conceded. 

Of course, that was when there was a loud crashing sound from outside. Along with screaming.

"..."

"..."

"Let's just let the others deal with that," Kokichi offered.

"Kokichi..." Kaede replied, almost disappointed.

"Hey, hey, it's my first morning back from being kidnapped! And you worked so hard to rescue me, so don't we both deserve a little break?"

Kaede hesitated.

"...five more minutes."

"Yay!"

When they finally emerged from their bedroom, Kotoko was clinging to Gonta and Korekiyo was bowing in what was either a deep and sincere apology or a prayer. Tenko and Masaru were sitting on Korekiyo's back, meditating together. Jataro was making slips of paper with nothing but the word _'apologize'_ on it. While this was happening, Rantarou and Kirumi were making breakfast with Nagisa's help. Monaka was already seated at the dining table.

"What happened here?" Kaede asked. 

"Gonta will explain it!"

* * *

_"Seems like we've all got termination slips," Rantarou said, sorting through the mail._

_In the early morning, the only ones up were Gonta, Rantarou, Kirumi, and Korekiyo. Kirumi was considering what to make behind the kitchen counter, while Gonta and Korekiyo were helping get the table ready. Rantarou let a few envelopes down on the counter, keeping the termination papers._

_"Termination?" Gonta asked._

_"Our old jobs at our old divisions are over," Rantarou explained simply. "They want us to focus only on hunting down the remaining despairs."_

_"Would that mean that our pay is...?" Kirumi inquired._

_"Wouldn't our income be entirely dependant on our efficacy?" Korekiyo offered._

_Rantarou read over the papers a bit closer._

_"They're giving us a monthly allowance, plus some money for capturing Komaeda, but it'll still run out fast if we don't do anything."_

_"So they want the noose around our necks to motivate us..." Korekiyo grumbled._

_"What's this about nooses?"_

_They turned to see Nagisa and a tired Kotoko walking over to the table._

_"Sorry, did we wake you two up?" Rantarou asked. He cursed the fact that their living quarters had mashed the kitchen, living room, and dining room into one large space, divided only by half-walls._

_"No," Nagisa answered._

_"Yes," Kotoko answered._

_"Well, get ready for breakfast, then," Rantarou said, patting them both on the head. "Mind setting the glasses for everyone?"_

_Kotoko and Nagisa went to grab cups from the cupboard to be helpful._

_"Should we tell them about the circumstances...?" Kirumi wondered out loud, looking to the other three._

_"It might stress them out, thinking we might run out of cash and food," Rantarou offered._

_"But there's no reason to be **gentle** with them, is there?" Korekiyo asked._

_A glass shattered on the floor._

_"Kotoko-chan..." Nagisa called out, just as Kotoko began to scream._

_"No! Anything but gentle! Please, don't be gentle...! I don't want to be treated gently...!! Please don't! I'm begging you!!"_

_Kotoko's eyes were panicked and unfocused._

_"Utsugi-san—" Kirumi's plea was interrupted by Nagisa preventing her from approaching Kotoko._

_"Don't touch her. She'll get scared."_

_That was when Gonta made his way over._

_He knelt before Kotoko, far enough that he couldn't touch her but close enough that she could see him._

_"Gonta promises you that no one will ever treat you gently," Gonta declared. "Gentleman's honour."_

_"...but you're... an adult... a filthy, stinking, perverted, disgusting demon...."_

_"Gonta is not a demon, Gonta is a gentleman. And gentlemen keep their promises."_

_Shaking, Kotoko looked up at him._

_"Promise! Promise, promise so hard, y-you'll eat a million needles if you break it!"_

_"Gonta promises. Cross my heart."_

_Kotoko let herself start sobbing, running over to Gonta so she could have a hug._

* * *

"That is what happened!" Gonta concluded, patting Kotoko's head. She had already calmed down by this point, but she liked the hug.

"The other kids woke up after," Rantarou added. "Shinguuji-kun agreed to be an example of why we don't say that word around Kotoko-chan."

"So he's just gonna stay there until everyone's seen him?" Kokichi asked.

"Even after," Kirumi answered.

"How will he eat?" Kaede asked.

"He won't," Kotoko answered. "He gets to die."

"No, please don't do that," Kaede instantly replied.

She managed to convince Kotoko to at least let Korekiyo eat after an hour.

Then, when everyone had woken up and breakfast had come and gone, the work began.

They cleared the table of dishes and placed the case folder on top, pulling out the page for the Remnants of Despair.

"So, we gotta find one of these people soon, or we'll run out of supplies," Kaede summarized. 

"Info-gathering people?" Kokichi called out. "Any idea where to start?"

"Well, crimes fitting their MO would help narrow it down..." Shuuichi piped up. "Though, if they're particularly secretive, it could be a problem..."

"So we'll need files on recent crime activity," Kirumi said, writing it down for later.

"Angie also thinks it's good to just have suspicious activity in general. After all, there is an imposter in the group."

"Is this your version of Demon Hunting?" Masaru asked, looking up at Tenko.

"Why are you asking me...? Well, Tenko supposes so...?"

"Demon Hunting," Monaka repeated, before smiling. "Ah! Monaka thinks she knows something!"

"Great! Do you mind telling us?" Kaede asked, patting Monaka on the head.

Monaka had intended to subtly blackmail and bribe them with information until she got something useful, but the sudden physical contact that _wasn't_ intended to harm her made her brain short-circuit.

Kokichi looked on with an air of sympathy as Monaka accidentally blurted it out.

"Th-the, Demon Hunting...! We made a list and prepared the demons, b-but, one of those demons died, and came back bigger, so it might be... an imposter...?"

"Thank you a lot, Monaka-chan!"

"Abababuhbapwaaaaah——?"

"So, it's back to Towa City, eh?" Miu asked.

"Well, hopefully it'll be a bit easier this time," Kiibo said, before everyone minus Kokichi and the kids turned to look at Rantarou.

"What? I managed to get us inside the city, didn't I?"

"Yonaga almost died on the way there," Maki stated.

"Is he really the only one who can drive in this group?" Ryoma asked. "Is there no one else who might possibly be able to drive?"

"The world ended while we were in high school," Himiko retorted. "Give us a break."

"It can't be too hard to learn, right?" Kaito asked. "I mean, there's no one else driving on the roads, so it's just a matter of figuring it out and practicing!"

These were the kind of words that wound up biting people in the ass, as the person who was seated in the driver seat during their next trip to Towa City turned out to be Kaede, but, well, that's a story for another time.

For now, they tried their best to ask the kids about their game of Demon Hunting, along with the location of the apartment building the Hit List targets were trapped in, and use that information to make a plan.


	10. Chapter 10

"So! Our current plan is to free the hostages in Towa City, since one might be the SHSL Imposter we're looking for!" Kaede exclaimed. "Amami-kun's in charge of getting the car, Saihara-kun and Harukawa-san need to track 'em, but whether we find the target or not, we want to save the hostages soon!"

The others agreed, letting the meeting come to a close. Rantarou, Shuuichi, and Maki went to carry out their duties, while some of the adults stayed behind to discuss more strategy.

This gave the kids the perfect time to act on their own.

"You okay?" Nagisa asked Kotoko.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kotoko answered.

"Hey... how come you're okay with a ' _gentleman_ ,' but not, you know...?" Nagisa asked. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Don't be silly!" Kotoko replied. "A gentleman and a _'gentle'_ man are two different things. A gentleman is what you _think_ adults are like, before they turn out to be trash. You think they're nice and helpful and caring, until they stab you in the back and ruin you."

Nagisa nodded along, understanding her logic.

" _'Gentle'_ men are disgusting. They go back on everything men are supposed to be for their own selfish desires. They're awful and gross and terrible and awful and disgusting..." Kotoko sighed. "But... it's Big Bro Kokichi's friend, so he might be an exception..."

"Well, they're probably not old enough to be full-fledged demons, but... it'd be nice if we could trust them all like Big Sis Junko."

"It would be."

* * *

"Ah, Akamatsu-san! It feels like a long time since we last met," Makoto greeted her in the hallway as Kaede got some tranquilizers.

"Hello, Naegi-s—" Kaede froze at the sight of Tsumugi standing behind her former boss, hands tied up in front of her.

"She won't hurt you," Makoto promised, showing off the rope in his hands. "I got her."

"What are you doing...?" Kaede asked, watching as Makoto slowly walked towards her.

Something about the way he moved seemed wrong...

"I went to check out where you guys were trapped in the simulation," Makoto said. "We're taking the tech to base so we can study it, but we had to take Shirogane out of it first. I'm handing her over to Togami-kun soon so he can bring her to where we keep Komaeda."

"I see?"

"Don't worry, the technology won't be used for anything bad, really. We're just interested in seeing one of Fujisaki-san's last creations..." Makoto averted his eyes, and Kaede understood.

"I'm sorry..."

"No, no, it's fine, really—"

"I'm back, Kaede!" Kokichi announced, completely killing the mood.

He handed her a donut, then belatedly realized Makoto and Tsumugi were there.

"Sorry, it seems I didn't get you anything! Hope you can forgive me~" Kokichi said, because he was a spiteful little bitch.

"No, I only just ran into Akamatsu-san," Makoto said, just as Kokichi wrapped Kaede's arm around his shoulders and held her by the hip.

Makoto had the distinct feeling he was not supposed to be watching this, which was exactly what Kokichi wanted.

"I was watching for a while, so I think I got the gist of it..." Kokichi stated, before asking something with a wide grin.

"Hey, Naegi-chan. Something about you seems different. Change your hair? Shaved? Or did you **gain some weight**?"

Makoto paused, as Kaede swatted Kokichi for the rude remark.

"Shirogane resisted at first, and I got hurt. It's a bit painful to walk, but I can still manage it..."

Makoto handed Tsumugi's restraints to Kaede, raising his pant leg to show the bruises below his knee. Kokichi had a distinctly unsatisfied look on his face when he saw it.

_'Strange... I thought that the imposter might have tried to help Shirogane out since they were the one to convert her to despair in the first place, but this seems to be the real Naegi-chan...'_

"Well, I'm off to hand her to Togami-kun. Do your best!"

Makoto grabbed the reins from Kaede, walking off with Tsumugi quietly plodding on ahead behind him.

Kokichi watched them round the corner, just before the two of them heard Makoto's stunned exclamation.

"W-woah, Togami-kun! I almost didn't recognize you! You look different... is it the white suit?"

"Yes, well, unfortunately, white is a fattening colour... It's not important. Just hand the rope over so we can get on with this."

"As impatient as ever, I see..."

Kokichi yanked Kaede into running after them.


	11. Chapter 11

"You want me to shoot him with a tranquilizer in front of Naegi Makoto?!" Kaede demanded as they ran. _"Naegi Makoto?!"_

"I have the distinct feeling that your priorities are messed up here!" Kokichi replied.

They scrambled to a stop in front of an elevator, where Makoto and Togami (?) were about to part ways.

"Hold iiiiiiiitttttt!" Kaede screamed, coming to a stop way too fast and having to swing her arms around to stay steady.

"Eh? Ouma-kun, Akamatsu-san?" Makoto asked.

"What," Togami (?) said flatly.

"We wanna come too!" Kokichi exclaimed. "After all, we're the ones capturing the Remnants, so we have to be able to deliver them to the cells just in case!"

"That won't be necessary—"

"That's a great idea!" Makoto declared. "I've been meaning to show someone the correct procedure, anyways."

"Naegi, what are you _doing,"_ Togami (?) demanded.

"You're the one who went on and on last week about wanting the juniors to pull their own weight more. Won't this help?"

"That doesn't mean they should step out of line and stick their noses somewhere they shouldn't."

"What happened to the guy who made a rousing speech for their sakes because Ouma-kun _saved your life?_ " Makoto asked with narrowed eyes. The reason for his expression was less suspicion, and more complete disappointment in Togami's life choices.

Togami (?) looked at Makoto, then Kaede, then Kokichi, and then sighed.

The world's most awkward elevator ride ever ensued, in which everyone had to just deal with Kokichi being cuddly in public.

They emerged in a basement floor with bright lights. A hallway stretched out before them, branching out into two separate paths. 

Makoto guided them into the left hallway. Doors lined the walls with only a number plate to differentiate them.

"It's room 98-B, left side," Makoto said. "I remember it because it's the _'L'_ as in lucky, and there's only the one room here with a B in it."

"We didn't come here to listen to your inane chattering," Togami grumbled.

"Well, let's go— ack—!"

Makoto dropped his keycard to the floor as he fell, tranquilizer dart embedded in his back.

"Why did you do that," Kaede asked flatly as Kokichi reloaded it and returned it to her leg holster.

"Isn't it obvious, _Enoshima-chan?_ " Kokichi replied, and Kaede instantly got an idea of what he wanted her to do.

"Upupupupu, you never cease to amaze me, Kokichi-chan!" Kaede suddenly became haughty and arrogant, stunning Togami and Tsumugi.

"I don't understand... did the simulation fry your brain?" Tsumugi asked.

"Like hell it could, you brainless idiot!" Kokichi declared. "My darling would never, ever fall from something like that!"

"That's right...! I let you betray me to see if you'd be any good, but you weren't. Sorry, but I'll be taking the crown as Enoshima Junko the Second now!"

"I see, so it's come to this," Togami said.

"...s-senpai?" Tsumugi asked.

"Your imitation was ridden with holes. But... these two show potential. I can mold them into the _true_ successor..."

Tsumugi let out a cry.

"How wonderful~!" Kokichi cheered, holding Kaede's hands with interlaced fingers.

"Really, really, how delightful~!" Kaede added.

They settled into a tender embrace, as Kokichi took the tranquilizer gun out once again.

"Then, we don't need her...!"

Tsumugi tried to run, but the imposter held the rope tight.

"Don't you dare run away," the imposter ordered. "Hurry and face the despair of being betrayed by the one whose approval you wanted most!"

Tsumugi screamed, just as Kokichi shot the imposter with the sleeping dart.

He barely avoided falling on top of Makoto.

"How long do these things last again?" Kokichi asked.

"About... an hour, give or take," Kaede read off the packaging.

"Then, we have plenty of time," Kokichi said, grabbing Tsumugi's rope.

"W-wait, what are you...!"

"Do you mind shooting her for me?" Kokichi asked. "My hands are all _tied up_ at the moment."

"That was awful," Kaede replied, though she did exactly as he asked.

Makoto woke up sooner than expected, after only a fifteen minute delay, to find Tsumugi and the imposter tied up and unconscious.

Kokichi explained that _the imposter_ was the one who shot Makoto in an attempt to free Tsumugi, so they instantly knew something was wrong and took them down.

There were no security cameras to contradict him, Makoto figured it was believable, and Kaede didn't wanna tell him the truth.

"I'll get you guys paid for extra for preventing an infiltration," Makoto promised as Kyouko and Aoi helped him move the despairs into the holding room.

The pair made it back to their living quarters safely.

"Hey! Got the tranquilizers for taking down the imposter?" Kaito grinned as he walked up to greet them.

"We took them down on the way here," Kaede stated.

"...pardon?" Kirumi inquired. 

"We unintentionally captured the imposter. It was luck and Kokichi."

"And improvisation and skill and wit," Kokichi added.

"Does this mean that we _aren't_ going to free the hostages in Towa City?" Rantarou asked, looking up from a board game with the kids.

"We're still going to save them, just with less tranquilizers, I guess?" Kaede said, still utterly baffled by what her morning had turned into.

"Why?" Monaka questioned.

"Because it's just really mean to just leave people locked up in an apartment," Kaede answered.

"Don't you mean... bad?" Kokichi offered.

"Both. It's both."

Kaede waved it off with a vague hand gesture.

"I'm just... going to take a nap. I've done too much anything for one morning."

Kokichi followed her to their bedroom, then kissed her forehead to help her sleep.

When she had completely fallen asleep, he slipped out of the room, heading over to Kyouko's office.

"Hey, Kirigiri-chan! Do you mind if I ask for a little favour?"


	12. Chapter 12

"Being able to commission disguises from Shirogane... well, it's not a bad idea," Kyouko admitted. "Though, you'll have to figure out how to convince her. I can't speak for the quality or availability of the materials you'd use, either."

"No, thank you! It's enough if I can just walk into the cells and talk to her," Kokichi said.

"You won't be able to enter the cells," Kyouko stated. "Shirogane will be moved to another holding room, one that you'll be able to access more easily."

"Why?" Kokichi asked.

"For one, we can't risk giving prisoners any sort of long-distance communicator, so each time you tried to get a disguise, you'd have to take an elevator to the absolute bottom of the building," Kyouko told him. "Your living quarters are on the twentieth floor."

"How considerate."

"On top of that, I don't want you to spend too much time with the despairs," Kyouko said flatly.

"You're worried I might get converted?" 

"Yes." Kyouko stared him down with cold eyes. "Can you seriously tell me that there is no possible weakness they can take advantage of? Nothing they can use against you, nothing that can set you off or put you on edge?"

Kokichi stayed silent.

"I don't care how good of a liar you are or how strong you think you are. I _will not_ put you in that position."

"Is that all there is to it?" Kokichi asked.

"Does there have to be more to it?"

"I dunno... there's nothing you don't want me to see or anything?"

"I refuse to let you get dragged into the mindset of a despair because of your curiosity."

Kokichi wanted to ask more about it, before they both heard a set of rushed footsteps.

"You might want to leave," Kyouko suggested.

"I think I'll stay," Kokichi said, sneaking behind Kyouko's desk.

She gave him nothing more than a blank stare, just as Toko burst into the room.

 _"Explain this!"_ Toko screamed, slamming her hands down on the desk.

"I don't understand what you mean," Kyouko replied.

"How is it possible that some kids you just rescued became full-fledged Future Foundation members before me?! Isn't there a serial killer amongst them?! What sort of blatant favouritism is this?!"

"Shinguuji-kun was deemed less of a threat, as he was manipulated by a member of the despairs and only started after the tragedy began. He made it clear he would only kill once he believed it was the only option. Genocide Jack, on the other hand, has been killing since before the Tragedy, based off of attraction."

"Did he not have to go through the intern process?!"

"He did, only for him to become a full-fledged member upon becoming part of the team assigned to capture the despairs."

"So... all I have to do is join as well..." Toko muttered.

"Well, you'll have to ask them about it," Kyouko said. "Perhaps they'll let you join in on their next mission."

"And have t-to bring coffee to people younger than me?"

"If that's what's needed."

Toko clicked her tongue.

"F-fine. I'll do it... I'll a-ask their leader about tagging along..."

"Good."

"Argh, you're laughing at m-me, aren't you!? Thinking something like _'t-this is a suitable j-job for such a gloomy loner...!'"_

"I think it would be good for you," Kyouko said simply. "It's your chance to do something aside from help with reports."

"I m-might not like it, but I'll do it."

With that, Toko left.

"Does your group even have a leader?" Kyouko asked, glancing down at Kokichi.

"They'd probably point her towards Kaede," Kokichi admitted as he stood up, "so she'll probably wind up coming with us."

"I see..."

"Well, I gotta jet and get back to my warm and loving home, see ya!" Kokichi grinned as he turned away to leave.

"Wait."

Kokichi stilled, his smile turning overly innocent.

"Yeeess~?"

"Don't make a habit of shooting Naegi-kun. His body won't be able to handle it."

"Yes ma'am!"

* * *

Kokichi made it back just in time to see Toko storming off, along with a baffled Kaede just standing in the doorway, staring after her.

"Something happen?" Kokichi asked.

"Um... Fukawa-san just yelled at me...? And told me that she would help us so she would be a member of the Future Foundation alongside Togami-san and get some new clothes..." Kaede said, patting Kokichi on the head, as she suddenly veered off-track. "I don't know what's stopping her from asking for some clothes? Don't we have a division for distributing stuff like that? Can't she just ask for one set of clothing? I mean, they have to let her have that at least, since it's just plain mean to have her be doing her work and not let her have new clothes..."

"Well, maybe you can bring it up to her later? I mean, she wanted to join us for our Towa City raid, right?"

"Ohhhh... that's what she meant," Kaede realized. At Kokichi's baffled stare, she hastily defended herself with, "all she said about the matter was _'I'm helping you, but don't get the wrong idea! It's for Byakuya-sama!'_ And when I asked what she meant, she asked if I was an idiot!"

Kokichi began to laugh.

"Don't worry, I think she's like that to everyone," he said to the pouting Kaede. "Quit worrying about it too hard and just prepare for the raid!"

"You're so casual about this..."

They went into their living quarters together.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and now we see game mechanics again, yayyyyy!  
> its a new one i just made up, dont think too hard about how it works

"What do you mean we can't come?!" Masaru screamed, grabbing onto Kaede's leg.

"It's just driving around and picking people up! There's nothing fun about it, so be happy about staying home!" Kaede replied.

"But we wanna go too!" Kotoko exclaimed.

"Let go of Akamatsu," Maki ordered, actually trying to yank Masaru right off.

"Harukawa-san and Chabashira-san and Momota-kun and Toujou-san and Hoshi-kun will stay with you, so please calm down...!"

Kokichi watched the scene with a blank expression, right before Rantarou bopped him on the shoulder.

"You seem lost in thought. Anything I can do for you?"

"Huuuh, but it's because I'm lost in thought about my wonderful girlfriend?" Kokichi replied. "You sure you wanna hear it?"

"Well, I'm not opposed to the idea... if you were honest, that is."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"If you're thinking of Akamatsu-san in a lovey-dovey way, you usually have this dorky smile on your face you hide with your scarf," Rantarou noted. "The look you have right now, it's more of a... let's say _'how do I not get caught'_ sort of expression."

"You've been staring enough to tell? Gosh, I'm flattered and all, but I'm a taken man," Kokichi joked, inwardly wondering when he got so easy to read.

Rantarou just laughed.

"The offer still stands, if you want, though we might have to pretend to do something productive."

"Pretend nothing. I'm going to check our maps again," Kokichi said, just as Kaede spoke up.

"So, um, Monaka-chan pointed out that we might not be able to fit everyone, even in two vans, so we... could potentially use their airship."

And everyone minus the kids and Kokichi, who had been traumatized by Rantarou's shitty driving, instantly decided it was a great idea.

Not only did they not have to leave anyone behind, including some of their best fighters, but also, it was much more comfortable than being stuffed into a van. Plus, it was faster.

It wasn't _subtle_ , but it certainly looked cool and impressive.

Monaka took over the controls for the lift-off, allowing everyone a nice and relaxing ascent. Kaede was with her to make sure she didn't get lonely.

Kokichi decided to take Rantarou up on his offer, mostly because he didn't want to deal with Toko glaring holes at everyone from the far end of the hangar or the kids making a game of antagonizing her.

"Say, Amami-chan..." Kokichi spoke up, seated on the floor of a living room with a pillow, "if you were going to try to convince someone who hated you to do you a favour, how would you approach it?"

"How bad would you say this hatred is?" Rantarou asked, sitting just a bit further away. "Like, on a scale from _'petty grudge about a coffee prank'_ to _'every time you talk, I want to punch you in the face'."_

" _'I want you and your friends to distrust and murder each other so badly, I would stay in a simulation to repeat that exact scenario 53 times,'"_ Kokichi answered.

"...what are you doing with Shirogane-san?" 

"Getting her to make disguises for us," Kokichi said. "She seems easily-manipulated, but part of the problem is that she's already sworn her loyalty to another group, plus, she hates us..."

"Why are you immediately jumping to manipulation?" Rantarou gave the shorter boy a dubious stare. 

"It's not like I can offer reduced prison time," Kokichi stated. "She's in there for life."

"Why not stuff like manga or TV?" Rantarou offered. "I mean, doing nothing for days on end will get to her, right? So she'll be desperate for something to do."

"Not a bad idea...! Thanks, Amami-chan!"

"No problem," Rantarou said. "Think of it as a thank you for Komaeda."

**Rantarou and Kokichi kept discussing their ideas...**

**Rantarou and Kokichi grew a bit closer.**

* * *

"Monaka got tired... but, Monaka taught Big Sis the basics of flying the airship, so Monaka can take a nap in peace!" 

That announcement came, just before Kaede tried to swerve to avoid a flock of birds.

No one had any idea of how they survived that trip. Kokichi tried to break into the control room to make sure Kaede didn't kill them all, but he couldn't make it across the room without being thrown into something. They had to cling to the walls and each other to make sure they didn't get tossed about randomly. The kids were desperately hanging onto Gonta's limbs. And the airship just kept going...

They, well. Kind of crashed into a restaurant besides the apartment.

They didn't _break_ anything, but they did leave a dent on top of the restaurant...

In the end, Monaka had to take over and have them hover over the street, with a rope ladder for everyone to enter and exit.

"Oh! Before you go! Fukawa-san!"

Kaede handed Toko a bag.

"Wh-what is this?"

"A suit," Kaede answered. "So you can look the part."

"So y-you're saying that, since I-I'm not a full-fledged member, I s-should cover it up with clothes?! You—"

"To be perfectly frank, it's because she didn't want you to walk around in ripped clothes," Kokichi stated.

"You... how dare you look at me with pitying eyes...!"

"No matter what they say, they can't win in your eyes..." Korekiyo noted. "Is that any way for a member of the Future Foundation to act?"

"What d-does that mean!?"

"It means that part of our duties is to provide relief to civilians," Korekiyo retorted. "Do you think the way you've been acting will provide any sort of relief?"

"I don't want t-to hear this from the other s-serial killer!"

"Actually," Angie spoke up, "Korekiyo won't hurt anyone. Angie killed him once and she'll kill him again if she were to see that."

"Hold on! Everyone, this is getting way out of line!" Kaede exclaimed. "We're supposed to be on a rescue mission, so no fighting, no murder!"

"Fukawa-chan, go and get changed," Kokichi ordered. 

Kaede sighed. 

Toko clicked her tongue, then went and changed before coming back.

**The group went over their plan one more time.**

**They split into the airship defence team and the extraction team.**

* * *

"Don't worry! We're here to rescue you!" Kokichi declared with a smile. "Naegi Komaru-chan, right? Your brother has been waiting to see you."

Toko watched as Kokichi acted all charming and sweet, convincing the girl that everything would be alright.

Kokichi guided Komaru to the author, asking Toko to bring her back to the ship.

"A-alright... please come with me," doing her best to put on a polite smile, she instead made Komaru recoil...

"Ouma-kun, you're rubbing off on others in a bad way," Rantarou said. "It'll be bad if everyone was all smiles instead of professional, so please don't just copy him."

 _'Act professional... I can do that!'_ Toko realized. _'It's just acting like you do when you have to meet your publisher!'_

She cleared her throat and stood up a bit taller, her face blank.

"Very well. Shall we depart?" 

"Huh? Um, alright..."

"I apologize for my crude behaviour earlier, I had been told my attitude towards work was off-putting, so I had attempted to emulate the words and actions of someone more appealing."

Rantarou and Kokichi both had the same inward reaction towards this.

_'Who the hell is that.'_

"Ah, by the way, Naegi-san, is there anything in your room you want to bring with you?" Rantarou asked.

"No, no, there's only some old manga volumes," Komaru answered. "I've reread them so many times, I'd honestly get sick if I read them again."

"You mind if we keep it then?" Kokichi asked.

"Please keep it. Far away from me."

Rantarou and Kokichi promised that she wouldn't ever see the manga again, then raided her apartment and handed the manga to Gonta to deliver back.

This pattern went on again and again until everyone was safely out. The charming pair reassured the hostages that they were alright, then Toko put on her most professional act to get them onto the airship, where Kaede and the others explained more of the situation and provided comfort and amenities, then, while waiting for Toko to get back, they raided the apartment rooms for anything useful.

From this, they got a cat, snacks, butler tools (?), a gun (!?), a handbook on detectives, a donut-patterned hair tie, music, a gang flag, a pack of cigarettes, a baseball glove, a book on programming, and an exercise routine.

And a stinkbug, which Toko seemed happy about??

"Why did they give a cat and a stinkbug their own apartment room???" Kaede asked the moment they got back. She had been kicked out of the control room forever and replaced with Kaito.

"I don't know?" Kokichi replied, hanging out in the living room with the other tired Future Foundation members.

Kirumi was providing for the hostages in the hangar, since none of them really wanted to be in a small room so soon. Gonta was helpfully being a gentleman with her. Angie was with them because Kaede didn't want her to fight with Korekiyo again.

"It's 'cuz they're the most important things to some of the demons in Big Sis Junko's game," Jataro answered while scribbling in Maki's colouring book.

Toko froze at the words.

"You mean, the killing game?" Rantarou asked, looking up from the book he was reading to Kotoko.

"Yeah, that's the one!" Kotoko exclaimed. "The one meant to show how bad demons are!"

"The idea was that the world would be shown how easily demons are corrupted," Nagisa said.

"I win, again," Miu declared. She had been using her robot arms to play rock-paper-scissors against Nagisa, Masaru, and Kiibo, all at once.

"Dammit...!!!" Masaru swore.

"Watch your mouth!" Miu reprimanded him.

"So, you guys know about Enoshima, huh?" Ryoma asked.

"We know everything, ever! Duh!" Masaru declared.

"Then, when we get back, can I question you guys about it?" Shuuichi asked. "I need to write it down."

He was met with four cries of approval.

The ride back was so nice and calming, and no one even realized Kaito was the one who drove the entire way back.

Why did they not think of getting the guy whose entire job involved him learning how to fly complicated vehicles quickly to drive sooner?

* * *

**Bonus:**

"Kaede, Kaede, we found some snacks in one girl's apartment! They're still good!" Kokichi announced happily, grinning as Kaede patted him on the head.

"Great! We can share with everyone!"

"But there's one that's super special... it's a box of pocky!" Kokichi held up the box. "Want some?"

"Sure!"

Kokichi opened the pack, taking out a stick and holding it between his teeth.

He intended to tease her and make her blush cutely.

Unfortunately for him, Kaede was used to this by now, and went to bite off the chocolate instantly.

Kokichi flinched, eyes wide and face red, accidentally dropping the pocky.

"Hm?" Kaede looked down in confusion, wondering where her chocolate went.

Desperate to seem like he was still in control, Kokichi laughed. Despite still blushing like crazy.

"Whoopsies~ Looks like I dropped it! You just have to kiss me now—"

Kokichi's head all but exploded when she actually did kiss him.

"GET A ROOM!" Toko screamed at them from the corner.

"Just turn around and help keep the kids calm," Korekiyo instructed.

When Kaede pulled away, she had a smug grin on her face as she asked, "well? Did it taste sweet?"

"You're an idiot!" Kokichi screamed without thinking.

Kaede just laughed in response.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> introducing, the buddy system!
> 
> everyone but kaede gets a best friend who will help out in taking out their personal despair (but kaede doesnt have one so its fine) so yayyyyy!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ive decided that this fic is a management game now

**Naegi Makoto:** Thank you for your hard work! Here's your monthly allowance!

**Received Monthly Wages.**

**Naegi Makoto:** For capturing **the Ultimate Imposter** , **Komaeda Nagito** , and **Shirogane Tsumugi** , you get this bounty.

**Received Bounty x 3.**

**Naegi Makoto:** As a bonus for **preventing the infiltration of the Future Foundation** and **rescuing the Towa City hostages** , we've granted you these gifts!

 **Naegi Makoto:** You'll get these little amenities whenever you do something good that technically isn't your job. As a thank you, really.

**Received TV!**

**Received Personal Oven!**

**Naegi Makoto:** You'll be able to watch TV and bake without leaving your living quarters, so you'll be able to **blow off steam** and **have fun as a group** better than before!

 **Naegi Makoto:** Plus, baked goods always **boost people's mood** and **give you energy** , right? It'll be great!

 **Naegi Makoto:** Keep up the good work! See you again soon!

**Watch TV and Bake have been added to the Menu.**

* * *

**Shuuichi spent his time interrogating the kids as a group...**

**Utsugi Kotoko:** Big Sis Junko was a hero! A saviour!

 **Daimon Masaru:** Hey, these people we're hunting, they're the bad guys, right? Let me help!

 **Shingetsu Nagisa:** Big Sis Junko must be proud of us...

 **Kemuri Jataro:** What if you woke up one day and could only eat knives? Forever?

 **Monaka:**...

**Shuuichi didn't learn much...**

* * *

**Kirumi, Rantarou, and Angie baked together!**

**Toujou Kirumi:** Be careful, you're spilling batter everywhere.

 ** **Angie Yonaga** : **Ack—! Sorry!

 **Amami Rantarou:** Don't worry. Just take it nice and slow, just like this,

 ** **Angie Yonaga** : **Okay...

**Obtained Cake x 2!**

**Kaede took 1 Cake and distributed it amongst the hostages...**

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Hey, got a treat for you! How are you adjusting to living here?

 **Naegi Komaru:** I kinda feel anxious about being here... I don't want to stay in my room too long, but I'm not allowed to walk through much of the building...

 ** **Akamatsu Kaede** : **Then, how about we make you an intern? You can explore and do some work to keep yourself busy. Fukawa-san can walk you through the process.

 **Naegi Komaru:** I see...!

**There's a chance Komaru might join the Future Foundation!**

* * *

**Maki, Korekiyo, and Genocide Jack trained together.**

**Genocide Jack:** Oh, oh, what's thiiiiis? Hiding your pretty face under a mask, huh?! I just wanna rip it off!

 **Shinguuji Korekiyo:** Tch——!

 **Harukawa Maki:** Watch what you're doing with those scissors!

**It ended badly...**

**Maki got faster. She'll be able to dodge and make attacks more often.**

**Korekiyo got faster. He'll be able to dodge and make attacks more often.**

**Genocide Jack got stronger. She'll be able to attack for more damage.**

* * *

**Kokichi went down to see Tsumugi...**

**Ouma Kokichi:** Wooow, must be boring in here! You've got nothing to do _at all_!

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:**...it suits a plain girl like me. Go away.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Alright, fine... I'll leave since you want me gone so bad.

**Tsumugi didn't want to hear it...**

**A week or two might make her more receptive.**

* * *

**Miu and Kiibo went to see a division head.**

**Iruma Miu:** Yo! Is there any way to upgrade this guy's weaponry?

 **Izayoi Sonosuke:**...I'm not quite sure if I'm the right person to turn to.

 **Kiibo:** Don't be absurd! Izayoi-senpai creates the best weapons here! 

**Izayoi Sonosuke:** I've no experience with robots, though...

**Despite Sonosuke's misgivings, he helped upgrade Kiibo.**

**Kiibo learned the skill Sword Arm!**

* * *

**Ryoma and Kaito taught the kids about space...**

**Hoshi Ryoma:** You've still got a lot to learn.

 **Momota Kaito:** That's why we're here, after all!

 **Daimon Masaru:** Woahhhh! The stars are awesome! I wanna be a hero who can explore them!

 **Momota Kaito:** Start by being a sidekick!

* * *

**Himiko and Gonta relaxed together...**

**Yumeno Himiko:** We've been so busy lately...

 **Gokuhara Gonta:** It is good to take some time to read with a friend.

 **Yumeno Himiko:** I'm not reading. I'm becoming one with the floor.

 **Gokuhara Gonta:**...are you alright?

**Himiko's Stress went down!**

**Gonta's Stress went down!**

* * *

**Shuuichi looked through crime reports with Toko...**

**Saihara Shuuichi:** It seems like there's an increase in crime in this area. Assault with bladed weapons, along with explosions...

 **Fukawa Toko:** T-there's also a common MO between them... c-could it be a gang? Or a group working together...?

**Tenko came in!**

**Chabashira Tenko:** You're not overworking yourselves, right? Tenko won't let you get sick or stressed!

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** Don't worry, we're just reading files. Nothing too bad.

 **Fukawa Toko:** If y-you're so worried, then t-take some of the workload off our shoulders.

 **Chabashira Tenko:** Alright... Tenko will do her best!

**Shuuichi's Stress went down!**

**Toko's Stress went down!**

**Chabashira Tenko:** Hmmm... there's something weird about this...

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** Weird?

 **Chabashira Tenko:** All the explosions happened near the victims' bodies, so the investigator said it was probably an attacker with a sword who bombed the corpses, right?

 **Chabashira Tenko:** Then why does the explosion always start from inside the body? Who stabs someone and sticks a bomb through the wound?

 **Fukawa Toko:**...the despairs. They're... twisted enough to...

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** Let's look closer at the autopsies.

 **Fukawa Toko:** Urgh... looking at these pictures makes me feel sick.

 **Saihara Shuuichi:**!

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** These... aren't these wounds a bit too perfect?

 **Fukawa Toko:** Calling something so morbid perfect... a-aren't you the least bit disturbed?

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** No, no, I mean, normally, a person wouldn't be able to stab clean through in such a straight line. Especially not when considering all the organs, muscles, and bones in the way. 

**Chabashira Tenko:** Then, either this attacker is some sort of **sword-wielding expert**...

 **Fukawa Toko:** Or some sort of robot?

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** Why not? There's an **SHSL Mechanic** amongst the Despairs, after all.

**A new mission has been unlocked!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'd apologize for being late but all that means is that i didnt post a chapter this morning, which, frankly, is ridiculous and terrifying even to me.  
> so, anyways, i've decided that each despair takedown is divided into an investigation and the actual capturing, so that it's possible to do progress on several investigations in the same chapter while leaving the big capture for another chapter

"The investigation team will be Harukawa-chan, Momota-chan, and Saihara-chan," Kokichi announced. "You're taking a car because it's less conspicuous."

"We'll use their findings to decide who will go after the perpetrator of these attacks," Kaede added. "In the meanwhile, we're going to keep investigating to find other despairs."

"But none of us know how to drive..." Shuuichi spoke up.

Rantarou raised his hand to contribute, but Tenko slapped it down.

"...Iruma-san, do you have anything for like... driving cars?" Kaede asked.

"I can take a video game controller and set it up to drive by the afternoon's end."

"Oh praise Atua."

Rantarou tried to protest, only for Gonta of all people to shoot down his words. This made Kotoko join in too, which made the other kids want to participate in bullying Rantarou...

The meeting ended in that sort of semi-carefree mood.

* * *

**Kaede and Kirumi looked over case files...**

**Toujou Kirumi:** Ah...

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Is something wrong?

 **Toujou Kirumi:** I'm just... saddened. There are so many demands for food that it struck me as suspicious that one area wasn't asking for some...

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Well... there is a **chef** amongst the remnants... even if it's all normal, it can't hurt to look! Thank you, Toujou-chan!

**A new mission was unlocked!**

* * *

**Ouma Kokichi:** Monaka-chaaaaan!

 **Monaka:**...?

 **Ouma Kokichi:** You know a bit more about the despairs than you let on, right? Wanna share any info with your big bro?

 **Monaka:** Why would Monaka do that? 

**Ouma Kokichi:** Because it would be helpful?

 **Monaka:** Monaka might like you guys... but Monaka won't betray Big Sis Junko. Even if she's dead.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** And even if she was manipulating you?

 **Monaka:**...yes. Because she is the first to show Monaka kindness.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Even though we're the next to show you kindness, huh?

 **Monaka:**...sorry, Big Bro Kokichi. 

* * *

**Iruma Miu:** Honestly, these guys... oughta thank me more for what I do around here! I work hard, I do my time, I take care of the kids!

 **Harukawa Maki:** Shut up. You'll wake Daimon up.

 **Iruma Miu:** But I do my best work when I'm complaining!

 **Harukawa Maki:** At least complain quietly. If I'm stuck here because of a kid on my lap, the least you could do is not blow my eardrums out.

 **Iruma Miu:** I'll do you one better. 

**Miu presented a gift!**

**Iruma Miu:** A headset that completely cancels out all the noise you make and all other noise you hear to make sure all your attention's on the conversation!

 **Harukawa Maki:** It'd be handy for secret conversations... but there's no point if you can't hear someone approaching anyways. And what's with this design?

 **Iruma Miu:** Just take it. You'll be the first guinea pig!

 **Harukawa Maki:** Joy...

* * *

**Angie took Rantarou out for a drive.**

**Angie Yonaga:** Let's see how _you_ like it!

 **Amami Rantarou:** Ah, wow... feels a bit like a rollercoaster! This is pretty fun, thanks Angie-san!

 **Angie Yonaga:** What?! _What?!_

**Angie got better at driving.**

**They passed by a strange castle across the lake...**

**Amami Rantarou:**...hey, could that be...?

 **Angie Yonaga:** It looks **fit for a princess**...

**A new mission was unlocked!**

* * *

**Himiko and Tenko did some training together.**

**Yumeno Himiko:** I don't usually like moving my body... but I need to get used to being this tall again...

 **Chabashira Tenko:** Why did you have to get taller than Tenko...

**Himiko got more flexible! She can do more magic tricks now!**

**Tenko got a bit stressed...**

* * *

**Toko and Korekiyo helped the new recruits.**

**Fukawa Toko:** Why do I have to be stuck with you...

 **Shinguuji Korekiyo:** The whims of upper management.

 **Fukawa Toko:** Y-y-you mean... God?!

 **Shinguuji Korekiyo:**....Ouma-kun thought it would be funny.

 **Asahina Yuuta:** We sure have eccentric teachers...

 **Naegi Komaru:** No, I think it's more that everyone here is eccentric...

 **Fukawa Toko:** Hey! W-what are you saying, right in front of your upperclassmen?!

 **Asahina Yuuta:** Whoops, we got caught!

* * *

**Kiibo, Kaito, and Ryoma did some special training together...**

**Hoshi Ryoma:** You want me to send a few serves your way, so you can slice through them with your sword arm?

 **Kiibo:** Yes! It is essential for me to get used to it quickly!

 **Momota Kaito:** Don't worry! I'm sure you'll get the hang of it soon! We're gonna be training together!

 **Hoshi Ryoma:** Alright, here goes...

**Kiibo improved his skills!**

**Kaito got stronger!**

**Ryoma got faster!**

* * *

**Gonta and Shuuichi took care of Nagisa, Kotoko, and Jataro...**

**Gokuhara Gonta:** This is a rare species of beetle native to southern woodlands! 

**Utsugi Kotoko:** Wooooooow!

 **Shingetsu Nagisa:** Should we be taking notes?

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** It's not a class... it's more Gonta-kun sharing something he likes with everyone.

 **Kemuri Jataro:** I like his helmet...

**Gonta excitedly explained the characteristics of the beetle's hard shell.**

**Shuuichi gained some confidence.**

**The kids are happier. They might be more attached to the group now.**

* * *

"Looks like the time has come for our investigation to begin!" Kaito declared.

"Thanks for the remote, Iruma-san," Shuuichi said.

"We'll be back with the results soon," Maki promised.

When they returned, the results of their report turned out to be...

"We got attacked by Pekoyama Peko and a robot with a sword," Maki stated.

"Held 'em off pretty well, I think," Kaito said.

"I got a photo of them," Shuuichi added, handing it over.

"...wait, isn't this robot meant to look like Nanami Chiaki?" Kokichi noted.

"Their dead classmate...?" Kaede asked. "That's a bit... sad, and disturbing. It's like they want her to join in on the despair too..."

"Let's figure out a way to take them down," Kokichi said. "The swordswoman, the creator, and the robot too."

**Despair Mission: Pekoyama Peko + Souda Kazuichi START!**


	16. Chapter 16

The team chosen for the effort wound up being Kiibo, Ryoma, Kaito, and Maki. They travelled via car, to be as stealthy as possible.

Shuuichi and the investigation team's efforts had revealed that each assault had taken place within a certain radius, all within walking distance of each other. The area was in the industrial district, surrounded by warehouses and shipping ports. 

The plan was for Ryoma and Kaito to stealthily investigate any suspicious buildings and strike Souda down while Pekoyama and the Nanami-bot were away fighting Maki and Kiibo.

Unfortunately for them, this plan went sideways the moment they attempted it, because they ran into Pekoyama and the Nanami-bot leaving Souda's warehouse.

"...may we help you?" Pekoyama asked politely, despite carrying a bloodstained sword. The Nanami-bot didn't say a single word.

Maki instantly tried to shoot her with the sleeping darts she had loaded into her crossbow.

The Nanami-bot instantly shoved Pekoyama out of the way of the shot, the dart lodging itself in her metal skin.

"Ah...! You're going to sacrifice yourself for us again...! How despair-inducing..." Pekoyama murmured, just as the Nanami-bot ripped the dart out.

"Go after Souda," Maki ordered the others. 

"And leave you alone?! No way in hell!" Kaito replied.

"That bond you share... how nostalgic," Pekoyama said, before grinning. "Nanami. Become my tool and carve them up."

The robot with the face of an innocent forced her arm into a blade, charging forward without the slightest change in her expression.

"Isn't it wonderful?" Pekoyama asked as Kiibo held the other robot back with his sword. "She's still incomplete, so she can't speak yet, but she looks just like her. Just like the classmate we all loved...! Soon, we'll be able to hear her voice again, pleading us not to turn down this path! We'll be able to share the despair of corruption with her, but for now... just using her as a tool is enough!"

"Shut up," Ryoma declared, striking at Pekoyama with a specialized tennis ball.

She deflected it with her sword, but the strike...

"It damaged her weapon," Kaito noted, before immediately making a plan.

In an instant, the attack on Pekoyama and the Nanami-bot became a matter of holding off their close combat strikes while throwing anything and everything they could at the pair. 

Maki swapped out her sleeping darts for crossbow darts, Kaito raided nearby boxes and crates for ammo for Ryoma to serve at them, and whenever Kiibo got a chance, he shot off a laser at them.

The robot took most of the damage, throwing herself into the fray to protect Pekoyama. Pekoyama didn't even bother defending herself from some of the strikes, knowing that she had a shield around to protect her.

"It's exhilarating...!" Pekoyama declared, before kicking the Nanami-bot out of the way to strike at Kiibo. Kaito yanked him out of the way before he got stabbed, the robot falling over just in time to avoid a slash that would have decapitated him.

Pekoyama just laughed, cutting through an arrow Maki sent and dodging Ryoma sending a Monokuma head her way.

"She always wanted to understand her classmates... now she can understand the despair of being a useless tool! A tool to be disposed of!"

At once, Maki and Ryoma upped their attacks, grabbing all of Pekoyama's attention.

Kiibo shot the other robot through the head, causing her to go haywire. 

She exploded in a flash of bright light, causing Pekoyama's eyes to widen.

"Nanami...?" 

She turned around just long enough for Maki to lodge a sleeping dart in her neck.

"Damn..." Maki cursed as Pekoyama fainted, staring at the smoking crater they left in the warehouse wall. "So much for being stealthy."

"I'll restrain her," Kaito declared, grabbing her chipped sword. "Make sure Souda doesn't escape!"

The trio nodded, rushing into the warehouse.

The building had an open floor space, a walkway above making a second floor of sorts. All kinds of machines were sitting around, hanging on chains, sitting on the floor, all in various states of completion and damage. Many of them were Monokumas of all shapes and sizes...

The trio made it to the centre of the open floor before they heard the despair they were looking for. 

"Are you fuckin' kidding me?! I just made her, and you already killed her!" Souda screamed. "This is why...! This is why I've sworn to eliminate the world of human beings...! You can't see a beautiful thing without breaking it and ruining it!"

Using a remote, he activated the Monokuma bots. They started up with a multitude of red lights, the trio standing back-to-back to avoid any single one sneaking up on them.

"...well darn, looks like we've wandered into a trap," Ryoma said, clutching his racket tightly.

"I still have the hacking gun device Iruma-san implanted in my arm," Kiibo stated, shifting his other arm into gun mode.

"New plan. Keep the bears off my back," Maki declared.

The other two exchanged a nod, just as the robots charged at them with a mechanical roar.

"Now that I look at it closely... there's a robot amongst you three," Souda noted, as Ryoma kept a claw swipe away from Maki with his racket. "It's a bit sad. You've got no will of your own, so you follow along with what others make you do... reminds me of me."

Kiibo shot a Monokuma in the red eye, making it fall back and explode amongst the others. Maki followed this up with a barrage of arrows, the resulting explosions significantly thinning out the Monokuma numbers.

"I'd ask you to join me, but... you wouldn't be able to answer, would you?"

"I won't join you! I am fighting against despair because of my own choices and circumstances!" Kiibo declared

"You're feeling chatty today, aren't you?" Ryoma replied, sending one decapitated Monokuma head up at Souda.

"Shut up!" Souda replied, a spider-like Monokuma dropping from the ceiling to attack, taking the brunt of the hit for Souda.

"What the hell is that...?!" Maki found herself asking in horror.

"It's a Junk Monokuma," Souda answered proudly, almost as if he were presenting a project at the science fair, instead of, you know, trying to kill people. "It's got an infrared eye to help better detect lifeforms it's gotta kill."

The thing tried to chomp down on Kiibo's skull, Maki's intervention being the only thing keeping him from being beheaded once again.

"It's amazing what technology can do. If only the people in power weren't such assholes! If only I could have destroyed the Towa family long before they ever polluted the air...!"

"Watch out! We haven't taken out all the other Monokuma!" Kiibo screamed, shooting down a bot that was sneaking up on Ryoma.

"Crap... there's some with shields...!" Maki swore, just as an explosion rang out.

"Bombs too...!? Isn't this overkill?!" Ryoma added.

"I don't believe in overkill, actually," Souda said, deciding to drop three Beast Monokuma on them, just because.

"No time to think...! Get down!" 

The three ducked as the Beast Monokuma dove into a bunch of Bomber Monokumas, causing a large explosion that threw them off their feet.

The sound of metal creaking rang out amongst the chaos.

"The building won't be able to take this for much longer!" Maki warned the others. "Any ideas?!"

"T-try and survive?!" Kiibo yelled back, blasting as much as he could.

"Can you fly?!" Ryoma demanded. "We need to hurry and take him out before we get overwhelmed!"

"Dammit...!" Maki swore, having run out of arrows aside from her sleeping darts. She took out a knife and began to pray.

And that was when, well, something that could only be called a miracle happened.

 ** _"I've got you guys, don't worry!"_** a new voice screamed.

Kaito burst in, still carrying Pekoyama's chipped sword. 

The Monokuma bots paused, some splitting off from the offensive circle to target Kaito.

It was then that Ryoma got an idea.

"Jump!" Ryoma ordered, shoving Maki into place. The two of them got the gist immediately.

Maki put her knife away, using her hands to make a makeshift foothold. Kaito jumped up and got boosted up, landing on top of the Junk Monokuma and stabbing Pekoyama's sword into its eye.

"Kiibo!" Ryoma screamed, keeping more Monokuma at bay with his projectile shots. Maki instantly charged into the fray with nothing more than her knife, carving her way through the army.

"On it!" 

Kiibo slid underneath the Junk Monokuma, making it under just as it buckled under its own weight. He activated his jetpack feature.

Kaito jumped off, grabbing onto Kiibo's hand as they both ascended into the air! They narrowly missed the Junk Monokuma's explosion! Kiibo dropped Kaito off on the walkway, the astronaut rushing towards Souda.

"W-wait, no--!"

The despair tried to run, only for Kiibo to land in front of him, trapping him.

Kaito turned Souda back towards him, punching him in the face. The mechanic dropped the remote control, letting Kiibo stab through it easily.

The remaining Monokuma bots collapsed into a heap without their controller, like puppets with cut strings.

While Souda was still on the walkway, Kaito picked him up by the collar.

"Can you check to see if Pekoyama's still in the car? I had to rush to help you guys," Kaito said, passing the groaning mechanic to Kiibo. 

Maki and Ryoma nodded, as Kiibo went to knock Souda unconscious.

The two despairs were tied up and gagged, ensuring a nice, peaceful, and quiet trip back.

* * *

**DESPAIR CAPTURE SUCCESSFUL!**

* * *

**Kirigiri Kyouko:** Well done. Thank you for your hard work.

 **Kirigiri Kyouko:** We've been working with the SHSL Therapist in order to put together files on the actions of SHSL Despair as a whole. In the future, we might also be able to provide reports on **how each individual** had been manipulated into despair.

 **Kirigiri Kyouko:** This information could be useful for **discovering their weaknesses** , potentially **persuading them without a fight** , and **avoiding despairing yourselves** , so keep an eye out for that.

 **Kirigiri Kyouko:** Please, read them when you have the time.

* * *

**SHSL Despair - Entry #1**

* * *

Each student of class 77-B, aside from Nanami Chiaki, had become a member of SHSL Despair. 

Upon further investigation, a timeline of events can be established.

Enoshima Junko had managed to individually become close to the members of the class in the time leading up to the incident. However, Nanami Chiaki was the only one to report the model's strange behaviour to her teacher. These complaints were dismissed when brought up to the board of directors.

Approximately one week before the slaughter of the students of Hope's Peak, every student of class 77-B had disappeared.

According to official reports, the investigators sent to find them had mistakenly reported them dead. But, according to the retellings of the despairs themselves, the truth is that they had disappeared to join Enoshima Junko's cause.

Mistaking them for being kidnapped, Nanami Chiaki and their teacher, Yukizome Chisa, had brought several armed forces along to rescue them. When they arrived, the despairs slaughtered their would-be rescuers, their classmate, and their teacher.

Despite this, the despairs still show some fondness towards Nanami Chiaki and Yukizome Chisa. They express a desire for them to be alive and with them, spreading despair, but also a desire to kill them once again.

This paradoxical mindset reveals much about the inner workings of SHSL Despair.


	17. Chapter 17

**Momota Kaito:** Woo! We did good out there, guys! High-five!

 **Harukawa Maki:** Don't get too excited. There's still more to go.

 **Hoshi Ryoma:** Well, it's fine to celebrate for now, isn't it?

 **Kiibo:** Yes...! Let's continue doing our best!

**The team became closer friends!**

* * *

**Angie and Rantarou discussed their ideas for investigating the castle with the others...**

**Amami Rantarou:** From what we saw, there are guards patrolling the castle all times of the day. Every single one of them wore a **Monokuma mask** , too.

 **Angie Yonaga:** But, but, there's a time when the maids **leave the castle** to take out the trash...

 **Amami Rantarou:** We were thinking of maybe grabbing some masks and disguising ourselves as them to sneak inside.

 **Monaka:** No! No!!!

 **Ouma Kokichi:**...huh?

 **Monaka:** Monoka! Won't! Let! Any! One! Wear! The! Masks! She! Won't!

 **Shingetsu Nagisa:** M-Monaka-chan—! Calm down—!

 **Monaka:** Monaka! Won't!

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Then, how about a **fake**?

 **Ouma Kokichi:** We've got two arts and crafts experts here. Why don't we make our own?

 **Monaka:**...!

 **Kemuri Jataro:** So... me...?

 **Angie Yonaga:** Let's do our best, Jataro! 

**Kemuri Jataro:** Ah...! Okay!

**Angie and Jataro worked together to make Monokuma Mask Replicas.**

**Ouma Kokichi:** We'll also need disguises and a reference for them...

 **Ouma Kokichi:** So some sort of **stealth camera** and **convincing Shirogane**...

**> Investigation Mission: Old Castle**

**> Requires: ~~Monokuma Mask Replicas~~ , Servant Disguises (requires Stealth Camera), Stealth Camera.**

* * *

**Kirumi discussed her ideas for searching the well-fed area with the others.**

**Toujou Kirumi:**...I believe that we will be able to send Future Foundation members under the guise of checking in on the area, but this could present the residents with a chance to cover up any wrongdoing.

 **Gokuhara Gonta:** Perhaps Gonta could be of assistance? Gonta could speak with the animals in the area and see if they have seen anything strange.

 **Utsugi Kotoko:** Oh! Oh!! And Kotoko could put on her best starving orphan act! She'd be excellent for the role!

 **Utsugi Kotoko:** Kyaaa, I got so excited I slipped into third-person!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** All those ideas could work out, but we don't want to just throw Kotoko-chan in there alone... let's have someone go with you.

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** So basically, you're doing three investigations at once, huh...

**> Investigation Mission: Well-Fed Area**

**> Requires: Shabby Disguises.**

* * *

**Miu started working on the cameras...**

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Thank you for your hard work, Iruma-san!

 **Iruma Miu:** U-um... darn right you oughta be thanking me! I do so much work around here!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** We appreciate it!

 **Harukawa Maki:** Are you happy now, Iruma?

 **Iruma Miu:** Yes...!

 **Monaka:** This part is horribly unbalanced...

**Monaka helped Miu out!**

**Maki was there for emotional support.**

* * *

**Shuuichi read files together with Kaito, Kiibo, and Ryoma...**

**They found a series of riots that had to be suppressed, but nothing that pointed towards any despairs.**

* * *

**Tenko and Himiko entertained Nagisa and Masaru with tricks.**

* * *

**Ouma Kokichi:** Kaede.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Yeah?

 **Ouma Kokichi:** You remember how we were called the _'Naegi Makoto's angel-devil pair,'_ and how it was borderline overkill to send the two of us to persuade someone?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Yeah.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** I have someone that needs borderline overkill.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Alright, show me the way.

**Kokichi brought Kaede down to meet Tsumugi...**

* * *

"We'll give you materials, we'll let you work," Kokichi promised temptingly. "We'll even give you manga and entertainment. All you need to do is help us out."

"Leave," Tsumugi ordered, sitting as far from the pair as possible. Her back was turned towards them, not even bothering to look.

Kokichi looked to Kaede. The blonde walked into Tsumugi's cell, Kokichi immediately following after. He immediately went to lock the door behind them.

"We need you," Kaede said, making Tsumugi freeze.

"You might think we're your enemies, but we aren't," Kaede added. "The upperclassman you admired betrayed you. You have no more ties to SHSL Despair. In fact, you probably were never considered part of the group in the first place."

"No... that's not...!" Tsumugi flinched, turning to meet Kaede's face—

When Kaede gave her a gentle smile.

"We need you," Kaede repeated, grabbing Tsumugi's hand. "You don't have to barrel down this path alone. You can have us by your side."

"Y-you're just trying to take advantage of me!" Tsumugi screamed, slapping Kaede's hand away.

"So were the despairs," Kokichi pointed out, pouting as he held Kaede's hand himself. "How is this any different?"

"I..."

"You don't have to be alone. I know this situation must be scary, but we want you as an ally," Kaede said. "The despairs were trying to manipulate you into despair, but you don't have to keep going like this! You can turn back and help people!"

Tsumugi was speechless.

"Would you rather die alone in this cell?" Kokichi asked. "The despairs don't want anything to do with you. The people who know you're down here can be counted on one hand. Are you really going to turn down someone who wants to reach out to you?"

"Please tell us what you want," Kaede asked. "If we can, we'll do it."

Tsumugi stared at them in stunned silence.

"Ah, she doesn't seem to want to," Kokichi said with a sigh. "Let's just give up..."

Kaede had a bitter expression on her face, before looking at Tsumugi with a sad smile.

"Sorry for bothering you. We won't do it again."

The pair turned to leave.

 _"Wait!"_ Tsumugi screamed.

"Huh?" Kaede and Kokichi turned around, seeing Tsumugi desperately reaching out to them.

"I-I'll do it! I'll make your disguises!" Tsumugi declared, tears in her eyes. "Just, please don't leave me alone in here...! Please... make sure someone knows I'm alive!"

"You're sure?" Kokichi asked.

"Yes...!" 

"Then, thank you!" Kaede smiled at Tsumugi.

**Tsumugi agreed to work for the group!**

**Kaede and Kokichi stayed with her as she made her costumes...**

**Got Shabby Disguise!**

**Investigation Mission: Well-Fed Area can progress!**

* * *

It was a long day, but the group had made a lot of progress in their investigation.

It was tiring, but satisfying, so everyone went off to sleep.

There were two things that happened that night, though.

One was that Kaede woke up in the middle of the night, wanting to drink some water. She was bad at falling back asleep, especially when something was bothering her, so she tried to go on her own, but... Kokichi tended to have nightmares about her dying. He was surprisingly strong for his size, so Kaede couldn't get him to let go without waking him up.

She resigned herself to the fact that she had a cuddling monster for a boyfriend (which was only partially her fault) and just got up, Kokichi and all. This managed to wake him up, but he decided to accompany her anyways.

The second thing that happened was that Monaka woke up in the middle of the night, needing to go to the washroom.

As the children slept in the living room on a couch-bed, she had to pass by the kitchen to reach the hallway washroom. It was too much of a pain to get to her wheelchair and wheel it over, especially since no one would see her, so she just got up and walked.

She figured she could sneak back into bed without anyone noticing.

And then she crossed paths with Kaede and Kokichi, unconsciously letting out a scream at the sight.

Kaede rushed to reassure her, but her scream had woken up everyone there.

Monaka was frozen from the shock, meaning that everyone got there to see the wheelchair-bound girl standing up on her own two feet.


	18. Chapter 18

Monaka began to cry under the weight of everyone's gaze, so Kaede quickly scooped her up into a hug.

"Let's calm down, okay?" Kaede asked softly, before addressing everyone else. "We're going for a short walk. Sorry to wake you up."

Kokichi naturally gravitated towards them, the trio walking out into the hallways of the twentieth floor. 

The floor was dedicated to temporarily housing victims of disasters, which was why there were so many rooms connected to one common area. The floor was full of arrangements like this, which made the hallways long and winding. The perfect place for a peaceful walk.

"You doing okay, kid?" Kokichi asked the child clinging to Kaede.

"....te you..."

"Hm?" Kaede asked.

"Monaka hates you!" Monaka screamed, only for Kaede to start patting her head. "Monaka- s-she hates you-!"

"Shhh, it's okay," Kaede said, combing her fingers through Monaka's hair. 

"Monaka hates you...! You, you made everyone see that I lied...! Everyone only likes me when I lie!" Monaka sobbed.

Kokichi patted her on the back awkwardly. 

"They only like me because they think I'm pitiful...! They only stay with me because I'm weak and helpless! Now everyone... will ignore Monaka, just like her family did...! Just like my brother and father...!!" Monaka's blubbering dissolved into teary hiccups.

"That's a lie," Kokichi said. 

"What! Would! You! Know!?" Monaka demanded, turning to glare at Kokichi with watery eyes.

"'cuz I've known you were lying since the start, and I still like you," Kokichi stated. "Kaede, do you like Monaka-chan any less now?"

"No, not at all," Kaede replied, petting Monaka's head once again.

Monaka turned towards Kaede with wide eyes. Her eyeballs almost popped out of her skull when she saw Kaede's smile.

"But... but, I... Monaka was tricking you. Lying. Manipulating you...!" Monaka exclaimed, hiding her face in the crook of Kaede's neck.

"Psh, I tell better lies in my sleep, everyone still likes me fine," Kokichi said casually.

Monaka hesitated.

"I think I understand, better than anyone, what it feels like to lie for attention," Kokichi stated. "To feel like you're manipulating everyone into place, like people couldn't ever accept you because of it..."

His eyes went towards Kaede, before he smiled at Monaka. 

"But, even so, I think they'll still like you. In fact, I know they will," Kokichi promised. 

Monaka's tears fell without her making a single sound.

Then, with a soft breath, she raised her head a bit and asked, "really...?"

"I promise," Kaede swore. "As long as you want us to, we'll be there for you."

Monaka began to whimper, before wailing a wordless cry.

It wasn't sadness, really. It wasn't a cry of anger or hatred. It was the cry of a child who had never been shown so much affection before, realizing that she could have what she had always wanted for so long.

Kaede continued to stroke Monaka's head, as Kokichi dug around in his pockets. Even if he was in his pyjamas, he had prepared for everything from a sneak attack to sudden sickness.

"Here, your face is really ugly when you cry," Kokichi said, handing Monaka a pack of tissues.

"He means that you're cuter when you smile," Kaede instantly corrected.

Monaka wiped her face and blew her nose. The other two were patient and let her take her time in remembering how to breathe again.

When they got back, they found that everyone else was still awake and gathered either around the dining table or on the couch. The other kids in particular, were watching as Monaka walked in, almost hiding behind Kaede and Kokichi's legs.

"Are you okay?" Kirumi instantly asked. "I can prepare a drink and snack for you, if you'd like."

Monaka stared in stunned silence.

"We've also got card games and tricks, if you want," Himiko offered.

"I have a robot toy for you!" Kiibo exclaimed excitedly.

"We could toss a ball around," Ryoma said.

"Or meditate!" Tenko added.

"And arts and crafts!" Angie said.

"Gonta still has a few friends to introduce to you!"

"We can read a storybook about the universe, with bonus info by the Luminary of the Stars himself!"

"You're... not mad?" Monaka asked in a whisper.

"Don't be stupid," Maki said. "Everyone wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Aren't you supposed to be more delicate around kids...?" Rantarou asked.

Monaka looked towards her friends, the former Warriors of Hope.

"Monaka-chan... you must be very good at acting if even _I_ couldn't tell," Kotoko said. "That's so cool!"

"You were hurt by the demons, just like us, right?" Masaru asked. "I'm sure that's why you lied!"

"That's right, the demons must have made you do it..." Jataro said. 

"We have faith in you," Nagisa stated. "That's why, even if it was a lie... we will trust you."

Monaka had just calmed down, but the words of her fellow children made her burst into tears once again.

"No! No, no, that's a lie! Monaka... I just wanted... I wanted you to feel bad for me...! So you couldn't leave me! So you couldn't ignore me!"

The other children panicked.

"The Monaka-chan you liked so much was trying to manipulate you!" Monaka screamed. "Just like Big Sis Junko! She lied to you!"

"...what?" Nagisa gasped.

"She lied! She never wanted to kill demons! She just wanted to make despair! That's why! That's why, that's what the helmets were for! For a children vs adults war that would cause despair!"

"That... no...!"

Monaka ignored Kotoko's cry as she continued.

"When you talked about beating the demons, she was laughing! She just wanted to use you! Even the people we're hunting now, they're Big Sis Junko's friends! Friends in despair! You've all been played and used, by Big Sis Junko and Monaka! That's the **truth**!"

"Hey, let's calm down a bit," Kaede urged the green-haired girl. 

"Stop it! Stop acting like it's okay! Even when you put on that smile, it's wrong! You were wrong! Everyone will hate me now! Because of everything I've hid...! Because of my lies...!!"

"It would be better to just keep everyone separate and calm them down," Maki suggested.

"Do you hate Monaka-san now?" Shuuichi asked, kneeling down to look the other children in the eye.

"...I can't," Jataro admitted. "Lying to someone as eye-rottingly ugly as me is just the natural order of things..."

"Don't say that," Korekiyo interjected. 

"But..."

"No buts."

Jataro hung his head.

"You lied... But that's just because you were scared of being alone, right...?!" Masaru exclaimed. "Even if Big Sis Junko was lying... I wasn't, not when it came to making kids feel less scared!"

"That's right! Even if the person who made us think of it was tricking us, we still want a children's paradise more than anything! A world where every kid can feel safe!" Kotoko declared. 

"That includes you, Monaka-chan," Nagisa stated. 

Monaka froze at the words.

"We still want to improve the world alongside you," Nagisa added. "Because we are the **Warriors of Hope**."

Kokichi laughed, patting Monaka on the head.

"Seems like you've got your answer now, right?"

Monaka threw herself at her friends, pulling them all into a hug.

Even though they were crying, they were smiling.

* * *

 **Kirigiri Kyouko:** You got a late-night noise complaint.

 **Kirigiri Kyouko:** I'll let it slide this time, but try not to do it again.

**Everyone apologized....**

* * *

**Monaka summoned everyone to the dining room...**

**Monaka:**...I've decided.

 **Monaka:** If it's everyone here, then it will be okay... if I tell you everything.

 **Monaka:** Because we can **trust** you to help make the world a children's paradise.

 **Towa Monaka:** Please listen to Monaka carefully.


	19. Chapter 19

**Amami Rantarou:** Your family not only made the Monokuma bots, but the weapons to stop them, along with machines to purify the air pollution they caused themselves...

 **Towa Monaka:** No. It was me, acting on behalf of Bi— 

**Towa Monaka:** Of Ultimate Despair.

**The room goes silent.**

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Then, we have an expert in stopping them on our side!

 **Towa Monaka:**...huh?

 **Iruma Miu:** Heh, then with you around, it's gonna be a piece of cake to fix!

**Miu and Kiibo pull Monaka into a discussion of ways to reduce the air pollution and Monokuma robots...**

**Ouma Kokichi:** This info would be better off in the higher-ups' hands...

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Let's make Fukawa-chan write up a report!

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** Is it really okay to just push it off on her like this...?

 **Shinguuji Korekiyo:** Technically, it's her job. 

**Angie Yonaga:** Then, let's have Komaru and Yuuta help her out!

**They left the report to Toko...**

**Toko got a bit stressed out.**

**The group did a good thing, but it technically isn't part of their job description.**

* * *

**Kaede, Angie, and Kotoko tried on the disguises!**

**Utsugi Kotoko:** Woah...! It's so convincing...! I feel like a real pre-fairy Cinderella!

 **Shingetsu Nagisa:** Don't be so careless when people are relying on you.

 **Angie Yonaga:** It's fine, it's fine, the charm of an innocent child will help us be more convincing!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** We're going to leave now.

**Kokichi looks like he wants to say something...**

**Ouma Kokichi:** Stay safe, idiot. 

**Kaito slaps a hand to his forehead.**

**Kirumi stops them before they leave.**

**Toujou Kirumi:** If... it really is Hanamura, then please allow me to strike him down.

 **Angie Yonaga:** Of course! For your people and for your home, right?

 **Toujou Kirumi:** Yes.

 **Angie Yonaga:** Angie understands. She asks the same thing if you get Nevermind!

 **Toujou Kirumi:** I will.

**Angie and Kirumi made a promise. It made them get closer together.**

**The three leave to investigate. Angie drives.**

* * *

**Miu and Monaka completed the Stealth Camera!**

**Ouma Kokichi:** Good job! Let's check it out!

 **Iruma Miu:** What...?! Why are you so earnestly happy?! It's givin' me the creeps! Since when did you ever say _'good job'_ just like that?!

 **Ouma Kokichi:** I'm a nice guy, you know?

 **Towa Monaka:** We made it one of Big Bro Kiibo's functions for convenience.

 **Kiibo:** I'll do my best to be helpful!

**Kiibo controls the camera, the photos showing up on the TV...**

**Ouma Kokichi:** Can you get a picture of the back?

 **Kiibo:** Alright!

**Kokichi makes a reference sheet for the disguises...**

**Iruma Miu:** Why are you so good at this...?

 **Ouma Kokichi:** What is it with you and questioning everything I do today? Can't I be good at drawing designs?

 **Towa Monaka:** Wow...

**They became closer friends.**

**Got the info needed to make Servant Disguises!**

**Kiibo:** Ack!

**The TV shows Sonia Nevermind... she's staring directly at the camera!**

**She grabs the flying camera drone, and the screen goes dark...**

**Ouma Kokichi:**...damn...

 **Ouma Kokichi:** I only managed to make a design for the **maid's uniform**...

 **Iruma Miu:** Don't swear around the kid.

**Investigation Mission: Old Castle can progress!**

* * *

**Rantarou stayed with Tsumugi as she made the disguises...**

**Amami Rantarou:** I'm a bit curious, actually.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** About why I trapped you in the killing game?

 **Amami Rantarou:** No, I'm willing to dismiss that as you being insane.

 **Amami Rantarou:** What I want to know is, why would you want someone here to check up on you? Don't you hate us?

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:**...you wouldn't understand. Not with your loving family.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** You wouldn't understand what it feels like when **no one cares for your existence at all**...

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** But, even you with your loving family could have been like me. One of the despairs is a girl who loved her siblings so much, she dedicated her life to them. 

**Shirogane Tsumugi:** If things had gone differently, our positions could have been reversed.

 **Amami Rantarou:**...

**Got information on a member of SHSL Despair.**

**Got Servant Disguises.**

**Rantarou's in a pensive mood now...**

**Investigation Mission: Old Castle can progress!**

* * *

**Shuuichi looks over case files...**

**Daimon Masaru:** You're pretty much always reading. Is it interesting?

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** I wouldn't call it interesting, exactly, but it's important. We need to track down the despairs before they hurt others.

 **Daimon Masaru:** But you're never gonna play with us at this rate!

 **Momota Kaito:** You heard the man, time to take a break.

**Kaito picks Shuuichi up by the back of the collar.**

**Saihara Shuuichi:** Wait, hold on—

**Maki and Ryoma pick up the papers.**

**Harukawa Maki:** We can handle the files for today.

 **Hoshi Ryoma:** Just take a breather, alright?

**Shuuichi relaxed with Kaito and Masaru... Shuuichi's stress went down.**

**Hoshi Ryoma:**...what would qualify as suspicious, really? There are so many cases of serial killings and disappearances that it's hard to tell which ones are more relevant than others.

 **Harukawa Maki:** And I thought Shinguuji was prolific with a hundred victims... he's a small fry compared to some of these cases...

 **Harukawa Maki:** Maybe if we compare it to what we know of the despairs...?

 **Hoshi Ryoma:** We don't know much, though...

**Maki and Ryoma hit a roadblock... more information on the despairs would help.**

* * *

**Nagisa talks with Gonta.**

**Gokuhara Gonta:** Gonta will help try to make a world where children can be safe!

 **Shingetsu Nagisa:**...you really aren't a demon...

 **Gokuhara Gonta:** Huh?

 **Shingetsu Nagisa:** I never would have thought I would be trusting an adult who said that, but... maybe there are good adults out there...

 **Shingetsu Nagisa:** O-of course, that isn't a compliment! It just means that you're not absolutely terrible!

**Gonta is confused... but they might have become better friends.**

* * *

**Korekiyo talks to Jataro.**

**Shinguuji Korekiyo:** There's no need to degrade yourself so. Each human being is beautiful.

 **Kemuri Jataro:**...then, I'm inhuman...?

 **Shinguuji Korekiyo:** If you weren't human, like those despairs... I'd have killed you. You still have a human soul left in you.

 **Chabashira Tenko:** Hey! What do you think you're saying!? 

**Tenko separates Jataro and Korekiyo.**

* * *

**Himiko ignores Toko's complaining as she instructs the intern trio...**

* * *

"Well, I guess this will have to do," Kokichi said, staring down at the maid outfits.

"So, two people will have to infiltrate the castle, with a third waiting outside as getaway driver," Shuuichi noted.

"Who better to rock a maid uniform than the SHSL Maid herself?" Miu asked with a grin.

"I'll do my best so that Yonaga-san won't be disappointed," Kirumi stated.

**The investigation team is...**

**Kokichi, Kirumi, and Korekiyo!**

...

"But why?" Tenko asked, blatantly staring at Korekiyo.

"I'm the best at sneaking into places," Kokichi said. "Toujou-chan's the best at being a maid. And Shinguuji-chan's the best at killing people quietly and/or tying them up."

"...Ko-Ki-Ko..." Kaito stared at Kokichi dubiously after sounding it out. "Isn't this a pun in French?"

"Shut up, Momota-chan."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~they're the poppy team~~


	20. Chapter 20

The plan was for both teams to gather information. The castle team would try and do it _stealthily_ , mapping out the interior without anyone noticing anything was amiss. The art/drama/music team was disguised as a set of homeless girls, trying to investigate without alerting anyone.

Unfortunately, they did not have Enoshima's ability to make plans that accounted for anything and everything.

Such as the well-fed area being completely devoid of homeless people?

And, well, the castle team...

Nevermind tripped one of the disguised maids as she passed by them in the hallway, laughing haughtily as she looked down on the downed maid.

"How clumsy! Now, your injury... will have to be taken care of at the hospital, alright? Don't worry. My friend will take _good care of you."_

This absolutely wasn't an option at all, so they ran.

This got Nevermind to call the guards on them.

"Shinguuji!" Kirumi screamed into her communicator, too desperate to deal with formalities. "Help!"

Kokichi took off his shoe in a hurry, throwing it back at the guards.

One of their pursuers tripped over it, falling over and knocking over some guards behind them.

"Don't resist!" Nevermind screamed, just as they heard footsteps approaching from ahead.

Examining their environment in an instant, they moved as one. 

They were cornered in a beautiful hallway, red carpet and shining wooden floorboards. The white walls were covered in paintings, suits of armour standing guard at equal intervals. They were standing near a window with a solid set of drapes.

Kirumi knocked over a suit of armour, the metal pieces clattering apart and creating more tripping hazards.

Kokichi took the spear it held and wielded it backwards, smacking the nearest guard in the head with the spear's shaft.

"Stave them off for a few moments!" Kirumi ordered, starting to prepare.

"You better mean a few seconds!" Kokichi retorted, shoving a guard into the wall.

"I'll be as fast as I can!"

"...that's enough! Stop playing around!" Nevermind declared angrily. _**"Raise your weapons!"**_

Like toy soldiers marching to the beat, the guards moved in unison. Gripping their swords, they moved to take down their enemy.

"Bring it on!" Kokichi replied, before Kirumi took the spear from him.

He watched in shock as Kirumi quickly tied it to the curtain rod, using the strings of her own apron to fasten them together. The rods formed a cross-like structure, the curtains rearranged to make a glider of sorts.

"Hang on tightly!" Kirumi ordered, Kokichi grabbing onto her back as she went and jumped out the window.

Nevermind shrieked at them as they flew through the air. She rushed to the windowsill, body leaning dangerously far over the edge to see where they would land.

"After them!" Nevermind ordered. "Don't let them escape!"

The glider brought them back to where they had started, near an alleyway of trash and corpses. The maids they had knocked out in order to replace were still on the ground. Korekiyo had already prepared the getaway van.

And then they heard the sounds of helicopters.

"No good...!" Kokichi said. "They're just going to follow us back to the Future Foundation! We need to find a way to take them down, here and now!"

"Do you have any plans?" Korekiyo asked.

Kokichi glanced around, before smirking.

"Depends. How willing are you to trust me?"

* * *

Meanwhile, the team in the well-fed area had been cornered by a pair of well-groomed children.

"We found it! We found it!" a little girl exclaimed happily. "He's gonna reward us!"

"Let's take their weapons!" a little boy replied.

"W-wait! We're just... our home was destroyed! We made our way here while running...!" Kaede exclaimed. 

"Mom... what are they g-gonna do to us...?" Kotoko asked, clinging onto Kaede. Kaede didn't remember this being part of the plan, but wrapped her arms around the pigtailed girl with a worried expression anyways.

"Don't worry. Angie will protect you," Angie declared, putting on the act of the brave defender. "It's the least Angie can do in exchange for your help."

"No, no! We just want to get you to meet our helper!" the boy said hurriedly.

"The man who fed us! He wants us to bring him people," the girl said with a smile, "since everyone needs to eat!"

"We were wondering if we managed to find all the homeless people here, but then we found you!"

With a moment's pause, the trio followed the pair of children to a restaurant.

"Come on, come through the back! I'll alert Mr. Hanamura!" 

That was when they struck.

"Sorry," Kaede said, covering the little boy's mouth. "We can't let you."

Kotoko snapped handcuffs on him, as Angie did the same for the girl.

But, the girl bit down on Angie's hand, causing Angie's grip to loosen just enough for her to break free.

The little girl ran inside the building, while the trio just fled.

"They went ahead and to the right!" the boy screamed behind them.

Angie froze at the sight ahead of them.

"You called, Hanamura-san...?"

Well-dressed adults, clean children, they blocked the way with their bodies. They crept towards the trio with grins on their faces. They formed a semi-circle around the front of the entire restaurant, and were rapidly closing the distance.

"How interesting," a new voice said behind them, a downwards glance revealing a man in a chef's hat, the little girl from before hiding behind him. "I thought we'd exhausted this area's natural population."

"Are you... Hanamura?" Kaede asked.

"Why, yes!" Hanamura exclaimed with a grin. "I'm quite well-known around this area for helping out with distributing food and taking kids in."

He looked them up and down, appraising them.

"You are fine ladies... you could join our group! We'll take good care of your child and provide good food and clothes... what about it?"

Hanamura laughed, and the crowd laughed with him.

"Of course, if you refuse, I'm not too sure if you'll survive. Food is scarce around here, after all..."

The little girl began to drool...

"Kaede... what do we do?" Angie asked.

"Follow my lead," Kaede whispered to the two of them, before laughing loudly, surprising Hanamura.

"Maaaan, we planned on robbing you blind and sticking up your corpse!" Kotoko declared.

"But, but, this is certainly more interesting!" Angie exclaimed.

"Very, very interesting indeed..." Kaede said with a sinister smile. "Let's talk, then. About our options."

* * *

Sonia Nevermind watched with an impassive stare as some guards carried in the unconscious bodies of two dirtied maids. She gave them a short glance, then returned to watching the screen in her hand. It displayed the views of the different helicopters as they searched the air.

"Set them aside for now," she said dismissively, "I'll tell you when to prepare them for the hospital."

The guards left with a salute as she continued watching.

One of the helicopters had caught sight of a black van, speeding through the streets. Two masked maids were sitting in the other seats...

 _'Were those the ones who tried to run away?'_ she wondered. _'How could they be working with someone, when they can't speak...?'_

Her eyes widened as she recognized the van's make and model.

"Future Foundation...!"

She snarled at the sight, glaring at the black-haired man driving the van. 

How dare they...!

The princess was so furious, she wanted to scratch up a maid or two. It would make for a good addition to the hospital.

She called the maids, before sneering.

"You've woken up, but your brain clearly isn't on yet," she said in disgust. "How dare you try and serve me with such an unkempt appearance? Begone!"

That was all she managed to say, before the taller maid took out a sleeping dart gun and shot her.

"We have a half hour until the sleeping dart runs out," Kirumi reported, already beginning to handcuff Nevermind. "Feel free to shoot the guards again if you have to."

Korekiyo nodded, before taking out his communicator.

"Ouma-kun," Korekiyo called out. "How are you holding up?"

"It's lots of fun!" Kokikchi declared, the sound of tires screeching loudly in the background. "You should join in on this joyride!"

"Not interested in concussions," Kirumi replied, taking ahold of the screen Nevermind was using. "Make your way back soon."

"So serious... lighten up a little, Toujou-chan~!"

"Don't crash the car. We still need to get back," Korekiyo said.

"'kay~"

With that sort of carefree reply, Kokichi moved to hang up, when a landing helicopter blocked off his path.

He tried to swerve to avoid it, but then more and more descended around them.

Kirumi gasped when she realized Kokichi was surrounded, only for Korekiyo to bring her attention back to the princess' room.

And the masked guards and servants rapidly entering through each door.

* * *

"Is everyone here brainwashed?" Kaede asked, waving her hand in front of one woman's face. "You know, brain-messed-around-with, icky washing? Hypnotized? Anything?"

The woman slapped her hand away, as Hanamura laughed.

"Of course not! Are you, guys?"

There was a chorus of refusals.

"People depend on kindness in these times," Hanamura declared. "That's why, if the person they depend on needs help, they'll help. That's all there is to it."

"So you go around with your cronies, finding food?" Kotoko asked. "What do you do when there isn't any?"

"We decide," Hanamura stated. "Ini miney mini moe..."

He sang out the song, finger landing on one man. He jumped at the sight.

The people closest instantly surged for him, grabbing him to prevent him from escaping.

"No, no, it was a demonstration!" Hanamura claimed. "Let him go, it's not the real thing."

The hyperventilating man was set free.

"Even in this group, we could die..." Angie noted.

"As you would have it, we either join you and die eventually or die now, is that it?" Kaede asked.

"It's best not to put it into such cruel words," Hanamura said. "After all, you'll start to enjoy it once you try."

"Then, how about this counter-proposal?" Kaede asked with a grin. "How would you like to take down the Future Foundation, the hope of this world?"

Hanamura paused.

"Go on," he said.

"It's simple," Angie said. "We'll pretend to turn you in as a criminal. We'll bring everyone here as recovering victims, and, when the time is right, we'll let you wreck havoc."

"How can I trust you?" Hanamura asked.

Kotoko hesitated, before Kaede stepped in.

"I mean, it's boring, isn't it?" Kaede laughed. "You have _such perfect control_ over everyone here... if you asked them to die, they actually might, you know? What's the point of a game you can predict perfectly?"

Hanamura looked over at the others around them, eyes narrowed.

"It's more interesting to let yourself betray and be betrayed than to stay secure in your perfect little bubble, right?"

Kaede offered her hand to him.

"Let's have some fun."

Hanamura grinned.

"Yes. Let's."

He reached out towards her hand, only for him to pause.

"Well, we can't bring all of you. Thin out the numbers a bit, won't you?"

While the Future Foundation trio were stunned by his words, Hanamura ordered the group to start killing each other.

"No!" Kaede screamed as a fight instantly broke out.

"Didn't you want chaos?" Hanamura asked. "Or, well, is this still too boring for you? I bombed half their meals just in case, so we can see a fireworks show if you want!"

In place of a reply, Kotoko instantly stabbed him with a sleeping dart.

"Stop your fighting!" Angie demanded, voice clearing the area instantly.

"Stand down and surrender," Kaede ordered coldly, forcing down bile. "We're taking him into custody! You will be provided with food and home at the Future Foundation, so do not attempt to rescue him!"

Masks of smiles cracked in two as the survivors began to break down.

"Please have mercy...! There's nothing else to eat, and if you weren't happy and cooperating, it'd be you next...!"

"I'm sorry-! I'm sorry!"

"My dad... he didn't wanna join, so Mr. Hanamura cooked him up...!" the little girl who has been standing behind Hanamura sobbed.

"Don't worry. It will all be okay," Angie promised. "Our mission is to save this world from despair. That's why, all of you will be under our protection."

"We're not gonna be able to fit them all in the van, though..." Kotoko noted.

"Ah! Let's call for reinforcements!" Kaede said, taking out her communicator.

* * *

Kokichi was brought back to the castle in a helicopter, next to the still-unconscious maids. He wasn't bound or anything, but he wasn't stupid enough to try anything in a moving aircraft, either.

He looked out the window and saw the other choppers almost escorting them. His head was full of ideas, when he froze at the sight awaiting him when they landed.

Instead of a princess standing triumphantly over his captured comrades, he found the reverse. The maid and anthropologist were holding an unconscious Nevermind, while all the guards surrounding them were standing at attention.

"It seems that they were simply following orders and not letting you escape," Korekiyo reported as he and Kirumi boarded the aircraft, "but, since Nevermind never said what to do with you afterwards, they're only going to bring you back here. And, of course, since Nevermind isn't in a state to issue orders at the moment, they're perfectly cooperative with someone else... especially when that someone else has offered to help them remove their stuffy masks..."

"Really... you of all people, offering to help someone remove a mask?" Kokichi asked in faux disbelief. "Why, I never."

"I'm as surprised as you are," Kirumi offered, just as a group-wide message played through all their communicators..

 _'Hey, um, guys? Is there anyone in the area who can send about... three vans? We got into a bit of a situation,'_ Kaede's voice said.

Kokichi instantly laughed, startling his girlfriend.

"What did you get yourself into this time, Kaede?"

_'Kokichi...! I, well, I'll explain when we get back home.'_

"No need to wait that long. I mean, we did just happen to receive about... ten helicopters about now. We can pick you up on the way."

_'What did you get yourself into this time, Kokichi?'_

Kaede's only response was a loud laugh.

"Swap stories on the way back?"

_'Sure.'_

Kokichi shut off the communicator with a dorky smile, only to see Kirumi and Korekiyo giving him knowing looks.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing," the two said in unison.

"Be sure to tell Yonaga-san she can get her punch in."

* * *

**DESPAIR CAPTURE SUCCESSFUL!**

* * *

**Kirigiri Kyouko:** Thank you once again for your hard work.

 **Kirigiri Kyouko:** I'll ignore how most of the despairs you've brought in have punch marks on their faces, of course.

 **Kirigiri Kyouko:** With the work you've done, we've been able to prepare some **individual despair reports**. Naegi-kun will be the one to deliver them the next time he drops off your pay and added goods.

 **Kirigiri Kyouko:** Here's the report for this time.

* * *

**SHSL Despair - Entry #2**

* * *

Each one of the group seems to have their own view on what despair means.

For some, it is control over others. For others, it is their show of love for Enoshima Junko. For others still, it is rebellion against the world that oppressed them, or justice, or a way of strengthening the world...

The one common thread between their views on despair is the group's complete and utter **fanatical devotion to spreading it**.

Enoshima Junko's manipulations run deep. And, to make it worse, the group is tight-knit, meaning that they can all **reinforce each other's belief in despair** and **support the others in their efforts**.

It won't be uncommon to see some members of despair **working together**. And, in some cases, it will be necessary to **take out certain other members of the group to reach the intended target**.

Please do your best. We're all counting on you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for instance, nekomaru and akane are also working together, while sonia and fuyuhiko need to be captured in order to capture mikan.  
> and izuru?  
> you need to capture every other despair to meet him.


	21. Chapter 21

**Naegi Makoto:** Thank you for your hard work! Here's your monthly allowance!

**Received Monthly Wages.**

**Naegi Makoto:** For capturing **Souda Kazuichi** , **Pekoyama Peko** , **Sonia Nevermind** , and **Hanamura Teruteru** , you get this bounty.

**Received Bounty x 4.**

**Naegi Makoto:** And, as a bonus for **rescuing Hanamura's captives** , **helping undo the air pollution** , **providing the weaknesses of the Monokuma robots** , and **removing the brainwashing helmets from Nevermind's entourage** , we've given you these gifts!

**Received Handbooks!**

**Received Added Food Money!**

**Naegi Makoto:** These handbooks will help with your planning. You can **check the locations** of other people holding them, along with **seeing whether or not they're injured**. They'll instantly alert the others if one is injured, and they even double as calendars and daily organizers!

 **Naegi Makoto:** It's pretty hard to remember what time of year it is in here... especially since the ecosystem is so messed up it doesn't rain or snow like it's supposed to... but it's **the first day of January**.

 **Naegi Makoto:** A year passed without us noticing... along with the fact that it's been **nearly a year since you joined the Future Foundation**...

 **Naegi Makoto:** So, to thank you, we've given you more money for food and other things you might need. 

**Naegi Makoto:** Since, well, it's only been two months, but you've already captured almost **half the despairs**.

 **Naegi Makoto:** You've earned a break, so enjoy it well before continuing with refreshed eyes!

 **Naegi Makoto:** Ah, that's right! There's two more things!

**Received Despair Files.**

**Received Official Letter.**

**Naegi Makoto:** These files are what we've learned of the **individual psyches** of each of the despairs so far.

 **Naegi Makoto:** While this letter is from the head of the Future Foundation himself. I'm sure he's thanking you heartily.

 **Naegi Makoto:** Thank you again! I'll see you around soon!

* * *

**Kokichi took the files and the letter.**

**Saihara Shuuichi:** Anything important?

 **Ouma Kokichi:** It's all boring and long... I wanna procrastinate on reading it...

 **Yumeno Himiko:**...I can understand that...

**Kokichi tucked the papers into his pocket.**

**Akamatsu Kaede:**...well, it's not good to keep working hard without a break. 

**Akamatsu Kaede:** How about... we finish up anything that could need immediate attention today, then spend the next day off? We can have two days off each week, so everyone can clock out when they think it's too much.

 **Toujou Kirumi:** It seems workable.

 **Angie Yonaga:** Angie has no disagreements!

* * *

**Angie Yonaga:** Kirumi~! Thank you a lot!

 **Toujou Kirumi:** No, it's only right for me to be the one thanking you.

 **Shinguuji Korekiyo:** You're going to get stuck in an infinite loop...

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Hahahaha! You two are really polar opposites, huh?

 **Ouma Kokichi:** I feel so ignored...

 **Utsugi Kotoko:** Then let's have a revolution! No survivors!

**They became closer friends...**

* * *

**Rantarou, Ryoma, Kiibo, and Kaito help Shuuichi with the case files... Kokichi sits near them while playing cards with the kids.**

**Kiibo:** What we know is that the despairs tend to use their **talents** to spread despair.

 **Amami Rantarou:** We know their talents at least, but this **'Kamukura Izuru'** is worrying...

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** All we know is that that was the name of the schooler's founder, but that was _decades_ ago. He's long gone.

 **Hoshi Ryoma:** Thanks for the despair files, but it's only info on the despairs we already captured, right?

 **Momota Kaito:** Let's try and find out a way to gather info on the despairs we don't know. I mean, we can talk to the SHSL Therapist and get some sort of psych profile on them. 

**Saihara Shuuichi:** That's a start...

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Jot that down as an idea for after your break then, because I'm losing and I need someone to beat these kids in Old Maid.

 **Towa Monaka:** Hehehehe....

 **Kemuri Jataro:** They're untouchable...!

 **Daimon Masaru:** Monaka-chan...! Avenge us...!!!!!

 **Utsugi Kotoko:** How am _I_ losing in poker faces against these two...?!

 **Shingetsu Nagisa:** He says he's losing, but... the only one that can even touch him is Monaka-chan!

 **Momota Kaito:**...

 **Kiibo:**...

 **Hoshi Ryoma:**...

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Here you go, Saihara-chan.

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** Why.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Because you always see me doing scary faces, so Monaka-chan's imitations won't scare you at all, right?

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** SO YOU FINALLY ADMIT THAT YOU DO THOSE FACES--

**Kokichi left with the despair files.**

**The others watched as Shuuichi lost horribly...**

* * *

**Yumeno Himiko:** Oddly enough, I feel a bit restless... maybe something in me is broken?

 **Chabashira Tenko:** Could it be that you're waiting until you can confront the despair that hurt you the most?

 **Yumeno Himiko:** It could be...

 **Gokuhara Gonta:** Gonta understands. When the time comes, Gonta will do his best to help!

 **Chabashira Tenko:** Tenko too!

 **Yumeno Himiko:** I suppose I'll help too...

**The trio gets more and more motivated.**

* * *

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Ah... I wonder, is there anything I can do...? To help moving forward....?

 **Harukawa Maki:** Weren't you the one who said we need a break?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** T-that's tomorrow!

 **Iruma Miu:** Chill! You just got back from a mission, plus you're already dealing with all of us as our leader! You can take an early break!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Leader?!

 **Harukawa Maki:** Are you not?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Well, I kind of figured it was more... equal than following after a leader. Like, everyone could offer suggestions, but I'm just one of the people who made more of them.

 **Iruma Miu:** We followed you to Towa City to save your boyfriend. You are our leader.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Wow...um, thanks?

 **Harukawa Maki:** What about that is worthy of thanks?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Just the fact that you think I'm someone worth following. Even though I'm doing my best, I'm still not always sure how to act around people...

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** I won't let you down.

 **Iruma Miu:** Of course you won't. I won't let you.

 **Harukawa Maki:** Like you're the best person for the job.

 **Iruma Miu:** I'd like to see you do better!

 **Harukawa Maki:** I will.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Ahahaha...! Thank you!

**Class Change!**

**Kaede went from SHSL Pianist to Leader of the Despair Capture Effort!**

* * *

**Korekiyo trained with Genocide Jack...**

* * *

**Angie and Kirumi chatted.**

**Toujou Kirumi:** Your island sounds wonderful. 

**Angie Yonaga:**...yeah. It was beautiful.

 **Toujou Kirumi:** Then, let us work to make it beautiful once again.

 **Angie Yonaga:** Of course. Let's work together with everyone else.

**Angie and Kirumi got more motivated...**

* * *

Kokichi slipped back into their quarters after a few hours, grabbing Kaede and dragging her away with a bullshit excuse.

He got her in a van, driving her away from the Future Foundation headquarters, parking in a small, partially-collapsed alleyway in an easily-overlooked part of the city. Then, when they'd stopped, Kokichi started to examine the van from top to bottom, tossing out whatever he thought was suspicious.

"Do you need any help?" Kaede asked as he took her handbook from her, and, along with his, threw it out onto the cracked sidewalk.

"I think that's everything they could use to listen in on us," Kokichi said, before adopting a curious expression. "Unless... we should also get rid of the clothes we're wearing?"

"I don't think you thought that sentence through all the way," Kaede retorted bluntly, "and if that was the way you intended your sentence, I'm questioning why you brought us all the way here for something like that."

Kokichi paused, before laughing.

"Nope, not what I meant! Did you want me to mean it that way, though?"

"Kokichi, seriously," Kaede replied. "What's on your mind? If it's something I can help with, I will."

Kokichi grinned at Kaede, a smile softer and more subdued than the wild smiles he'd show anyone else.

"Aw, all I wanted to do was surprise Kaede with a nice date, some light reading, and maybe a kiss at the end!" Kokichi said, pulling out the papers from his pocket. 

Kaede stared at the papers carefully, before looking up at Kokichi.

"You're not sharing this with the group first?"

"No, because Kaede's the person I trust the most, so it's only right that I give Kaede special privileges."

Saying that sort of thing with an innocent flair, he took Kaede's hand as he began to walk her through his findings.


	22. Chapter 22

The pair sat in the back of the van, crosslegged on the floor.

"Since we just got Nevermind and Hanamura, they haven't made files for them yet, but these four are ready," Kokichi explained, offering the four despair files to Kaede. "Take your time reading them."

"Alright," Kaede said, as Kokichi began to toy with her hair.

She relaxed against his shoulder as she began to read.

* * *

**SHSL Despair - Komaeda Nagito**

* * *

_Medical status confirms subject's claims of having frontotemporal dementia. Symptoms include changes in social and personal behaviour, loss of insight into the behaviours of oneself or others, inappropriate social behaviour, loss of empathy, mental rigidity, repetitive compulsive behaviour, delusions, euphoria or sudden behaviour changes._

_Subject's memories include many tragic events followed by a fortunate event. The subject refers to this as his "luck cycle" and believes that this luck is omnipotent._

_Subject has had a fervent belief in the concept of "hope" which battles and triumphs over "despair" even before the Corrupter's influence. Subject believes that "talent" is synonymous with "hope" and thus degraded himself in comparison to the more "hopeful" individuals he found himself with._

_The Corrupter gaslit subject over the course of two years, slowly convincing him that his mind was deteriorating faster than doctors predicted. During this time, she suggested that "hope" was so powerful that only an engineered "despair" could possibly make true "hope" emerge._

_Subject agreed to work with the Corrupter to create despair so he could see the "biggest hope" within his lifetime._

* * *

"This feels so weird..." Kaede noted. "There's more importance given to Enoshima than him... and _'subject'_? It sounds like some sort of lab rat.

"Yeah, I know," Kokichi said.

He passed her the next file.

* * *

**SHSL Despair - SHSL Imposter**

* * *

_Subject has no known name or official records. DNA tests have not found any relatives in the Future Foundation database, but testing is limited by restricted access to Japan's medical database._

_Subject's memories show intense emotional turmoil over perceived lack of identity, feeling that they are less than a person._

_The Corrupter convinced subject that they could forge their own identity with her by their side. These "identity lessons," as they are called in the subject's memories, were actually sessions in which the Corrupter used manipulation to cause the subject to adore her with absolute loyalty._

_Subject agreed to work with the Corrupter out of fanatical loyalty._

* * *

The next file...

* * *

**SHSL Despair - Pekoyama Peko**

* * *

_Subject was born an orphan and raised as the tool of the Kuzuryuu family._

_Subject was intensely loyal to the Master, and believed herself more tool than human._

_Subject's memories show a day where the Master told her she was unnecessary and he no longer needed her in any aspect of his life._

_The Corrupter met with the subject that day, offering a new cause for the subject to dedicate herself to._

_Subject agreed to work with the Corrupter to give herself a purpose._

* * *

The last file...

* * *

**SHSL Despair - Souda Kazuichi**

* * *

_Subject was born into a poor household with a physically abusive father and bullied at school._

_Subject's memories show that he was betrayed by a friend in middle school, which led to him changing his image in a desperate bid for approval and acceptance._

_The Corrupter befriended the subject by putting on an act of vulnerability, mimicking many of his mannerisms and self-doubts to convince him they had similar backgrounds. When in a position of trust, the Corrupter began to convince the subject that the world was full of injustice and bullies who abused the weaker classes, inspiring a fervent hatred of such people._

_Subject agreed to work with the Corrupter to inflict the pain they had suffered on the 'inhuman assholes' (as they are called in the subject's memories) of the world._

* * *

"... _ **'memories'**_...?" Kaede wondered out loud.

"I knew you'd notice sooner or later," Kokichi replied with a proud grin. "Isn't it weird how they word it as _'the subject's memories'_ instead of _'the subject recalls'_ or anything?"

"You know something, right?"

"Well, I have a few ideas," Kokichi said, shifting just enough to pull the letter out of his pocket. "The leader of the Future Foundation sent us **keycards** to be able to lock up the prisoners ourselves."

"So, that's what's in the letter?"

"Yep, but you know what's interesting? When I went to check it out, Kirigiri-chan was standing there, refusing me entry."

"Even though our boss gave us permission?" Kaede asked.

"She said that _'we needed to be shown the correct procedures'_ beforehand," Kokichi stated. "Almost _too_ stoically, y'know? Like she had to hide that she was buying time."

"But, Naegi-kun himself wanted to show us the procedure..."

"It's confusing," Kokichi said. "There's something Naegi-chan's faction is hiding from the higher ups, but Naegi-chan himself thinks he can trust us, even though Kirigiri-chan is trying to block us off at every turn."

Kaede thought it over, then realized something.

"The files... they were addressed specifically to us, right? Because one of the files told us to do our best, and gave information that would only be useful in **capturing them**. Wouldn't the SHSL Therapist have to send copies to Kirigiri-san's supervisor as well?"

"Eh, are you saying that they might be hiding the investigations into the despairs?" Kokichi asked.

"It's not really a statement, but more of something that might be a bit weird," Kaede answered. "I don't know why you would need to hide that, since the information _is_ being used to capture them."

"So it's not the investigation itself, but something else about it and the containment, along with the weird wording about their memories..."

The two of them paused.

"Don't we know something that can let administrators see and mess with memories?" Kaede asked, desperately hoping she was wrong.

"Something that can keep a group of about sixteen people in a coma..." Kokichi added.

"And something that Naegi-kun had brought into the Future Foundation headquarters, along with Shirogane... Oh god, they're using the simulation on the despairs," Kaede said.

"And they're trying to hide this from the higher-ups, who would want to just execute the despairs..."

"Because the therapist-!" Kaede realized. "Gekkogahara-san, she's making these notes on their falls into despair and their psyches to _reform_ them, isn't she?"

"Since information on the despairs we already captured wouldn't be of that much use to us," Kokichi said softly. "Did she make it so we could realize what was going on...?"

"But, if the higher-ups and Naegi-kun's faction are in this sort of mess, won't we be caught up in it too?" Kaede asked anxiously.

"No, I think that, no matter what happens, we're going to be immune to their political battles," Kokichi answered. "Both sides want the despairs to be captured, they just disagree what to do after. So they can't possibly do anything to the ones **doing the capturing for them**."

Putting away the papers, he said, "if Naegi-chan's faction loses, we can say we had no idea and wash our hands of this mess. If the higher-ups lose, we can give our full support to Naegi-chan, as the elite team that captured the despairs."

"For now, we just keep doing what we're doing, then..." Kaede let out a sigh.

"Yeah, I guess so," Kokichi said, taking her hand. "But, there's something else."

"Hm?" Kaede toyed with his fingers as he spoke.

"I went to see Shirogane," Kokichi said, "for information on the despairs we hadn't encountered yet."

* * *

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Hey there, Shirogane-chan~! Mind helping out a bit more?

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:**...what do you need?

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Oh, not a costume this time. I want to know what you can tell us about the other despairs.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:**...the people you captured so far...?

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Your senpai, Komaeda Nagito, Souda Kazuichi, Pekoyama Peko, Hanamura Teruteru, and Sonia Nevermind.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** That leaves... Kuzuryuu-kun, Owari-san, Nidai-kun, Koizumi-san, Tanaka-kun, Tsumiki-san, Mioda-san, Saionji-san, and Kamukura.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** What can you tell me?

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** Well, you can probably guess what they'll be doing.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** The athletes will work together, the leaders will boss around their packs, the influencers will spread despair through media... they'll stay where they're comfortable.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** And Kamukura? 

**Shirogane Tsumugi:** He'll be watching.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** He'll only come out when he thinks your group has done something interesting.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** So he's some sort of weird haunting spirit...

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** No, he's more of a god.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** He was the result of an experiment to see what happened if you gave someone every single talent you could think of, and even some you hadn't...

 **Ouma Kokichi:** What...?

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** He's inhumanly skilled at everything he tries. If you're strong, he's Herculean. If you're smart, he's intellectually unsurpassable. 

**Shirogane Tsumugi:** But, he's easily bored. To him, this is all a game he's beating half-blind.

* * *

"We're... up against something like that?" Kaede asked in horror. "Someone who can see us coming, and strong enough to..."

"She said our best shot was to convince him that we weren't boring," Kokichi answered. "But, that might be hard..."

Kokichi sighed.

"There's something else she said that I care about more, though."

Kaede listened carefully.

* * *

**Shirogane Tsumugi:** Is that all? Are you leaving now?

 **Ouma Kokichi:** What, are you going to beg me to stay or something?

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** No, it's enough if you remember my name and the fact that I'm alive.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Seriously... I don't understand you. Have you really sunken far enough that you're asking one of your victims to remember you? Or were you always this way?

 **Ouma Kokichi:** If I didn't hate you, I'd feel bad for you, but that's a lie.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** Don't mess with me. Don't you dare act superior. You can't look down on a mirror.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Huuuuh? What kind of shit are you spewing now?

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** Every single one of you can fall into despair. Enoshima took a girl that felt a little bit lonely and made her into one of us.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** And you know why? 

**Ouma Kokichi:** I don't really care, actually.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** It's because she's the Akamatsu of the group.

 **Ouma Kokichi:**...

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** Her favourite tactic is to take something broken and build it up into whatever she wants. Something she can break apart with a touch, something she can control and manipulate...

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** You get so hooked on the confidence and love and power she gives you that you start to enjoy whatever pain she throws at you. You can't separate the good from the bad or the bad from the good.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** All you have to do to know how I, how all of us got this way, is to ask your beloved girlfriend how she would help us.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Shut up.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** What, am I wrong? Are you saying that she wouldn't be able to tell all of your weak points and how to build you up? That you wouldn't follow her into despair if she ever wanted to end the world?

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** You've turned her into a damn good liar. If you're not careful, she might just end up becoming the mask.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** And she's the one person you can't afford losing to despair.

* * *

Kaede was silent for a long, long time.

Kokichi spoke first.

"It's hard for me to be honest. It's honestly terrifying," Kokichi admitted, lightly pulling Kaede's hand closer to his chest. "But..."

He sighed, looking over at her with a blank expression.

"It's even scarier to think of losing you again. Not being able to hear you hum songs under your breath or listen to your heartbeat... not having you around is worse than anything else. I love you, so I'll do anything to keep you with me," he declared. "I'll honestly tell you anything, no lies at all."

Kaede paused, breath freezing before her lips.

"You love me that much?" she asked breathlessly.

"Kaede, we're dating," Kokichi reminded her. "We agreed to marry each other when the world is better."

"Y-yeah, but..." Kaede looked down, a bitter expression on her face. "I've... been scared, lately. About whether or not we can do this, about whether or not _I_ can do this, about losing myself in my Enoshima act... and I've been scared of losing you too."

"I won't die," Kokichi said. "I promise."

"I feel silly about it," Kaede admitted, "especially compared to you and how you want me to be safe, but... I'm less worried about you dying, and more worried about you just choosing to leave me."

"What?" Kokichi replied, completely taken off-guard by her words.

"I don't know why people would think I'm the leader," Kaede admitted. "It feels like you're the one guiding everyone along. You're smart, clever, convincing, and a better liar than me... But, you're still so sweet to me, even though you have to keep stopping me from doing stupid things."

She sighed, looking up at the van's ceiling.

"I'm not used to being this close to people. Friends and a lover alike. So I'm scared that you'll just get tired of me for being like this, and decide to leave me alone..."

"Kaede," Kokichi said simply. "You are an idiot to think I'd leave you for that. If you can accept a liar, I can accept you."

Kokichi held her cheek in his hand, making her look back at his face. Even when sitting down, she had to look down a bit to look him in the eye.

"I'm not leaving you," he declared, and, with a voice almost like a desperate plea, he said, "and you're not leaving me, either. No matter what."

With tears in her eyes, she kissed him, and suddenly everything was okay.

* * *

When they separated, Kokichi spoke up.

"This might be our last chance to talk without any Future Foundation ears listening for a while, so if you have anything else, you should say it now," Kokichi said.

"Nowhere else could be safe?" Kaede asked.

"The handbooks obviously have some sort of tracking device in them, and if they can tell the others where we are, they can tell the bosses where we are," Kokichi explained. "There's no reason to think they can't listen in on us either."

"So, how are we going to explain driving far, far off, stripping the van of anything that could be a bug, leaving our communicators and handbooks outside the car, and coming back several hours later without telling anyone what happened?"

"We decided to have sex in the car so no one else could hear," Kokichi said flatly.

Kaede instantly started blushing.

"O-oh."

"I mean, we sleep in the same one-person bed every single night and we have around twenty roommates, five of which are children," Kokichi pointed out. "They were probably waiting for us to sneak off together at least three times in the past few months."

Kaede cleared her throat, already trying to cool her head down.

"The best way to make sure no one can fall into despair is to make sure that they're all a group, right? Not as dependant on one person uniting them, but as an interconnected team."

Kokichi nodded. 

"A lot of them are friends already, so I'm sure they'll be fine..." Kaede said, "but... I'm more worried about me. Putting on the Enoshima act is terrifying. The words I say don't make sense to me, and I'm scared of understanding them. And I have to be ready to lie at a moment's notice... I don't know how you can lie without being scared of losing yourself."

"You can't be scared if you already lost yourself," Kokichi answered bluntly. 

"Huh?"

"I'm only this honest because Kaede's with me," he said with a grin. "If it weren't for you, I'd still be gone, you know?"

"Kokichi..."

"I wanted people to understand me and love me, but I couldn't stop lying long enough for anyone to want to try. Then, you came along and accepted me anyways," Kokichi told her. "So I can tell you that, even if you do lose yourself in lies... I'll be able to find you. And I'll be able to help you, just like you did for me."

With a cheery laugh, he added, "I'm a much better liar than you, after all, so it's gonna be a piece of cake!"

Kaede returned his smile.

"Thank you, Kokichi."

"But besides, you're a _long_ way off, Kokichi declared. "The fact that you're worried you might lose yourself means you're still aware enough to stop."

"I hadn't thought of it that way," Kaede muttered.

"Well? Any other doubts you want me to blast away with my charming smile?" Kokichi asked.

"No... I have the feeling that, as long as we're together, we can overcome anything," Kaede answered. "But what about you? Is there anything you're worried about?"

Kokichi paused to think about it.

"I was mostly worried about you," Kokichi confessed. "As long as you're fine, I'll be with you."

"And if I were to fall into despair...?" Kaede asked.

"I won't deny it," Kokichi said. "I can understand wanting to make despair if it would make you happy. But, before that, you have to actually want despair. And I know you wouldn't, so I will stop you from being manipulated into doing things you would hate."

"That's a relief," Kaede said, "but I will be here, if you do need to talk."

"I know," Kokichi replied with a smile, going from holding Kaede's hand to wrapping his arms around her. "You're always going to be here."

"I don't have anything else to say, but... can we stay like this a bit longer?" Kaede asked. "I would like that more than anything."

In place of a reply, Kokichi pulled her closer.

* * *

When they got back to their living quarters, everyone else collectively agreed to not mention the disheveled hair, messed-up scarf, or Kaede's missing tights.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ill be honest the entire time i was writing this i was looking at the screen and going "what the fuck" as i wrote something that didnt seem like it was in-character but the characters themselves refused to not say these things


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here i made reference pics for the v3 kids designs (woh didnt change)
> 
> ([part 1](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/363666461522132994/605029135131082764/43F344C4-BB17-4103-8391-AE7EC9C111C2.png)) ([part 2](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/363666461522132994/605028539762343936/D6565843-2BE3-43CA-A3F3-DC50F5255433.png)) ([part 3](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/363666461522132994/605029138105106472/826AC8A9-BB86-4136-88F3-381B697E1A02.png)) ([part 4](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/363666461522132994/605029130911875082/C3DFDA4E-3C9C-4136-B6AE-0918D2DC7359.png))
> 
> (IM SORRY I SQUISHED YOU GONTA YOU WERE TOO TALL)

What Kaede and Kokichi did not know was that there was a bug hidden inside the steering wheel, which was the entire point of a bug hidden inside a steering wheel.

Fortunately for them, they had successfully managed to convince everyone that they had left for a forbidden rendezvous, including Hagakure, the person who was supposed to be listening to these things. He instantly figured out what two lovers driving far away from their workplace and living quarters meant, and turned off the recording. So, no one on either side of the Future Foundation factions knew what they had discussed.

There were two bad sides to this, though.

Since Kokichi's gambit to get away from everyone's ears and eyes required abusing the fact that they were lovers, there was no possible way to get away with sneaking every single person in the group out and discussing things with them. Especially not the children. They needed to figure out some other way to inform around twenty people of their discoveries in a place full of hidden cameras and bugs.

The second bad thing was, well...

"Big Sis Kaede, let me grab the glass for you!" Monaka exclaimed at the dining table.

"Big Sis Kaede, I'll carry that for you!" Masaru declared when she was putting away some case files.

"Big Sis Kaede... I made you a plushie..." Jataro said shyly, offering up a stuffed horse.

"Um, is something going on? It's not my birthday, so why are you all doing things for me?" Kaede asked the children, because Nagisa and Kotoko tried to give her hot towels and other relaxation products.

The other adults in the room were all silent.

"...oh my god," Kokichi said as he realized it.

"What?" Kaede asked as Kokichi turned bright red.

There was a tense silence...

"It's because it's not nice to make a pregnant lady stressed out!" Monaka screamed, because she couldn't handle the awkward silence anymore.

Miu punched a wall in her attempt not to just fucking explode. Kirumi had to shove a pillow into Rantarou's face to keep him from beginning to cackle. Shuuichi covered his face with his hands. Ryoma shook his head slowly.

"Gonta didn't realize that you were going to be parents! Congratulations!"

"C-c-congrats—!" Kaito exclaimed, visibly struggling to hold back laughter.

Himiko clapped softly, while Tenko had to be held back by Kiibo from also fucking exploding.

"Praise to Atua! Thank you for this miracle!"

"...oh my god," Kaede said quietly.

"You will be great parents," Korekiyo stated.

"I want a little sister, by the way! Make sure it's a girl!" Kotoko demanded.

"Well, I want a little brother!" Masaru exclaimed.

"Girl!"

"Boy!"

"They can't control the sex of the baby!" Nagisa interjected.

"Monaka will accept her new little sibling no matter what!"

"All of you realize that it's impossible to tell if she's pregnant or not from one day, right?" Maki pointed out.

Kokichi had been covering his face with his hands out of sheer embarrassment.

"Why are you more embarrassed about this than me?" Kaede asked bluntly, because this lie was _his idea in the first place._

"It's too soon to have kids!" Kokichi retorted. "We need to get a house and fix the world first!"

That declaration brought everyone to a pause, minus Rantarou, who might have been dying.

"ARE YOU AN IDIOT?!" Kaede demanded, blushing as Kokichi covered his face with his scarf.

This was the sort of mood their day off started off with.

Dumbassery.

* * *

**Toujou Kirumi:** Well, I suppose I'll prepare the food now.

 **Towa Monaka:** No, no, no!!!

 **Utsugi Kotoko:** Big Sis Kirumi always works so hard to make everyone's food! But it's a day off, so relax!

 **Toujou Kirumi:** Th-thank you, but, we need to eat...

 **Yumeno Himiko:** Don't worry. I'll step up, I suppose.

 **Kiibo:** I have already researched dozens of breakfast foods!

 **Toujou Kirumi:**...

 **Hoshi Ryoma:** I'll grab the fire extinguisher.

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** I'll watch over them.

**Monaka and Kotoko drag Kirumi into relaxing, giving her a massage at their makeshift parlour...**

**Shuuichi and Ryoma watch as Himiko and Kiibo cook.**

**It turns out pretty okay! Somehow!**

* * *

**Shinguuji Korekiyo:** You are all free to take the day off.

 **Asahina Yuuta:** Sweet!

 **Naegi Komaru:** Thank you!

 **Fukawa Toko:** Why would you say that?!

 **Shinguuji Korekiyo:**...pardon?

 **Fukawa Toko:** I'm still t-trying to become an official member...! And you just s-say that I can't work today?! Are you trying to sabotage me?!

 **Shinguuji Korekiyo:** Then, can you ask Gekkogahara-san if she can create predictive profiles for the remaining despairs?

 **Fukawa Toko:** Grnmgh... fine. 

**Shinguuji Korekiyo:** Thank you.

**Toko goes to work...**

**Korekiyo goes to drop off a brief message about Toko's performance as an intern...**

* * *

**Yumeno Himiko:** You're still going to train?

 **Momota Kaito:** Of course! Even if it's a day off, it's important to take care of your body!

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** You're welcome to join if you want.

 **Harukawa Maki:**...what makes you Yumeno of all people would want to?

 **Momota Kaito:** Moving your body gets your heart pumping and blood boiling! 

**Yumeno Himiko:** I think Harukawa was right... this really isn't convincing me...

 **Harukawa Maki:** Told you.

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** Well, you could always train magic tricks.

 **Yumeno Himiko:** I'm coming with you.

 **Momota Kaito:** Nice! Welcome aboard!

**Himiko joins in on the group's training session!**

* * *

**Toujou Kirumi:**...

 **Amami Rantarou:** No, no, I can see you glancing at the kitchen. 

**Toujou Kirumi:** I find cooking enjoyable, so you don't have to make me relax...

 **Amami Rantarou:** I wasn't going to stop you. 

**Amami Rantarou:** But, could you maybe wait until we're done braiding Kotoko's hair? If I lose your hands now, we're going to be stuck in a troublesome situation.

 **Utsugi Kotoko:** I have complete faith that you can make me cute as can be!

 **Toujou Kirumi:** But you're already cute...?

 **Utsugi Kotoko:** Kyaaa! That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me! Thank you, Big Sis Kirumi!

**Rantarou and Kirumi finish up Kotoko's braids, before they all go and make lunch together.**

* * *

**Iruma Miu:** Urgh, you will not **_believe_** what happened this time! Andou's a bitch!

 **Harukawa Maki:** Why do you keep talking to me?

 **Iruma Miu:** 'cuz we're friends, duh.

 **Harukawa Maki:** How.

 **Iruma Miu:** I mean, it's scary to piss people off, right? 

**Iruma Miu:** But you're always pissed off, so I can't make it worse from there.

 **Harukawa Maki:**...

 **Iruma Miu:** But, even when you're annoyed, you're nice enough to take care of the kids and hear me out even though you don't care, so I don't have to be scared around you.

 **Harukawa Maki:** I don't understand this train of logic at all.

 **Iruma Miu:** You don't have a brain, do you?

 **Harukawa Maki:** Shut up.

 **Iruma Miu:**...

 **Harukawa Maki:**...

 **Harukawa Maki:**...what did Andou do this time?

**Miu begins to complain a lot as she works!**

**Maki listens, supposedly....**

* * *

**Kiibo:** Begin!

**Masaru competes against Gonta in an arm-wrestling contest!**

**Daimon Masaru:** Uraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa--!

**Masaru beats Gonta!**

**Gokuhara Gonta:** Gyaah! Masaru-kun is so strong! 

**Daimon Masaru:** Heheheh, of course!

 **Daimon Masaru:** Who else?! Who's the next to lose to me!?

 **Chabashira Tenko:** Tenko will try!

 **Daimon Masaru:** Bring it on!

 **Kiibo:** Begin!

**Masaru and Tenko start to compete...**

**No matter how hard Masaru tries, he can't budge Tenko's arm...**

**Chabashira Tenko:** Hmph. Is that all?

**Tenko defeats Masaru in one move!**

**Daimon Masaru:** Whaaaat?!

 **Chabashira Tenko:** No good can come out of getting arrogant! Tenko will have to make you train even harder!

 **Kiibo:** W-woah!? Chabashira-san, your aura is scary!

 **Daimon Masaru:** Yes ma'am!

**Masaru seems to like being Tenko's student!**

* * *

**Angie Yonaga:** Oh, you're right, these materials will make for a lovely design...

 **Kemuri Jataro:** You mean it....?

 **Angie Yonaga:** Yep! Angie means it! Thank you a lot for your help with the fake masks before, Jataro!

**Angie pauses.**

**Angie Yonaga:** Now, why don't you show Shuuichi your work? I'm sure he'll like it!

 **Kemuri Jataro:** Okay!

**Jataro runs off, before Angie pulls out a carving knife.**

**Angie Yonaga:** What do you want, Shinguuji?

 **Shinguuji Korekiyo:** There's no need for the knife. I'm just here to see if you're doing well.

 **Angie Yonaga:** Hmmm? Hmmmmmmm?

 **Angie Yonaga:** So, so, you're not making plans to kill anyone with that lady serial killer? Is that so?

 **Shinguuji Korekiyo:** Of course not. Not when we are actually improving this world.

 **Angie Yonaga:** Angie... just doesn't believe you~!

 **Angie Yonaga:** If we get in a tough spot, how will Angie believe you won't say that the situation is irredeemable? How will Angie believe that you won't decide that death is the best option in a time like that?

 **Shinguuji Korekiyo:** In that case, I suppose I would make my decision based off of whether or not the group had faith the situation could get better.

 **Angie Yonaga:** And if we're divided? 

**Shinguuji Korekiyo:** We've an uneven number without Shirogane. There will always be a majority. 

**Angie Yonaga:** So you'll base our survival off of a majority vote....

 **Angie Yonaga:** That's not something you can say while expecting someone to trust you.

 **Shinguuji Korekiyo:** I don't expect trust. I would expect that you can at least be in the same room as me without immediately pulling out a weapon.

**Angie sighs, before putting the knife away.**

**Angie Yonaga:** Angie will allow this for now, but... if you ever think about it...

 **Angie Yonaga:** May Atua forgive me for my sins.

**The two seem to have come to an understanding... maybe?**

* * *

**Shuuichi and Nagisa read together on the couch. Jataro and Himiko watch a movie next to them.**

**Miu bursts in with Masaru!**

**Iruma Miu:** What's up, nerds, we're playing Jenga!

 **Yumeno Himiko:** Nyeh...?

 **Daimon Masaru:** Come on! Come on! We need the nerds and the art guy!

 **Yumeno Himiko:** And me?

 **Iruma Miu:** You're the table. You get to lie facedown on the floor and not move for several minutes.

 **Yumeno Himiko:** I'm up for that.

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** S...sure?

 **Shingetsu Nagisa:** I suppose I must, if you require my presence so badly...

**Miu dragged everyone into a game...**

* * *

**Kotoko brushes through Gonta's hair...**

**Utsugi Kotoko:** Look, look, Big Bro Gonta, aren't I cute? Big Sis Kirumi and Big Bro Rantarou braided my hair!

 **Gokuhara Gonta:** Yes, you are very cute! Thank you for taking the time to help Gonta look cute as well!

 **Utsugi Kotoko:** Of course!

* * *

**Monaka stares at Kiibo...**

**Kiibo:** Is something wrong, Monaka-chan?

 **Towa Monaka:**...

 **Kiibo:** Monaka-chan?

 **Towa Monaka:** I'm curious...

 **Kiibo:** About?

 **Towa Monaka:** The parts on your back seems like it's been jammed a bit... So I wanted to see if I could help...

 **Towa Monaka:** Monaka would understand why you wouldn't trust her, though.

 **Kiibo:** You mean my jetpack might be busted?! 

**Kiibo:** Please do help! Your help would be greatly appreciated!

 **Towa Monaka:**?!

 **Kiibo:** After all, Monaka-chan is a machinery **expert**! You're on par with Iruma-san when it comes to people I can turn to!

 **Towa Monaka:**?!?!?!?!?!?!

**Monaka helps Kiibo out, but she feels really, really confused about it...**

**Kiibo can move faster now!**

* * *

**Angie Yonaga:** Ah...

 **Toujou Kirumi:** That was a rather large sigh. May I be of assistance?

 **Angie Yonaga:** Kirumi!

 **Angie Yonaga:** Angie was just wondering! You know, about how to spend our day off and such! Any ideas?

 **Toujou Kirumi:** Well, not particularly. Is there anything you'd like to do?

 **Angie Yonaga:** Oh, oh! Kirumi can help Angie by posing for a drawing! That would help a lot!

 **Toujou Kirumi:** Very well then.

 **Toujou Kirumi:** And, if you'd like, I may be able to hear out your troubles. It can't be easy to hold up a smile all the time, after all.

 **Angie Yonaga:** Angie won't allow it unless it's two-ways! Kirumi helps everyone, so Angie won't just add to your stress!

 **Toujou Kirumi:** Then, we've come to an agreement to help each other.

 **Angie Yonaga:** Nyahahaha! Angie guesses so!

**Kirumi poses for Angie.**

* * *

**Harukawa Maki:** What are you doing?

 **Momota Kaito:** Oh, Harumaki!

 **Momota Kaito:** Look! I've been taking pictures of the sky each week we've been here.

**Kaito shows off a lineup of photos.**

**The earlier photos all show a blood red sky, but the recent photos are showing lighter and lighter reds...**

**Momota Kaito:** You can really see how much better the air pollution's gotten! Soon, the airborne illness rate will drop and crop survivability rates will rise!

 **Momota Kaito:** We might be able to get back to a normal weather system within the next five years! 

**Harukawa Maki:** You're so optimistic about this... 

**Harukawa Maki:** You really think this could work out?

 **Momota Kaito:** Things are already getting better. We've already been able to improve the world.

 **Momota Kaito:** We just need to keep at it! Until space travel is possible again, I won't give up!

**Maki smiles at Kaito behind his back.**

**Harukawa Maki:** You've never considered for a moment that it was impossible, did you?

 **Momota Kaito:** Of course not! I'm Momota Kaito, Luminary of the Stars! Making the impossible possible since the moment I was born!

 **Momota Kaito:** Plus, I'm not alone. There's the fake killing game gang, the kids, and the support of the Future Foundation with us.

 **Momota Kaito:** And a kickass assassin child caretaker who won't let us down!

 **Harukawa Maki:**...!

 **Harukawa Maki:** W-what are you even saying...?!

**Kaito laughs.**

**Maki seems to have suffered some emotional damage....**

* * *

**Amami Rantarou:** Has anyone seen Akamatsu-san?

**Silence...**

**Momota Kaito:** It's been one day and they've snuck off together again?

 **Iruma Miu:** I guess I can't blame 'em... After so long, their restraint completely snapped...

 **Ouma Kokichi:** But I'm right here?

**Everyone is confused?**

**Amami Rantarou:** Any idea where your girlfriend is?

 **Ouma Kokichi:**...yeah. I'll grab her.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Come with me for a sec, Amami-chan?

 **Amami Rantarou:** Hm? Sure.

* * *

"Ha, can't say I ever imagined you choosing me of all people to accompany you," Rantarou said casually, following after Kokichi. The height difference made it easy for him to catch up, but hard for him to avoid accidentally overtaking the shorter boy.

"Well, you were the one I asked about Shirogane in the first place. And the first one to notice Kaede was missing, so you seemed like a good choice," Kokichi said.

"Did you really not notice?" Rantarou asked. "Even though you're always together?"

"It's less that I didn't notice, and more that I let her?" Kokichi replied. "She wanted to talk to Shirogane, but was worried about what would happen if I was there."

"I see..." Rantarou said, before giving Kokichi a bit of a grin. "Y'know, it hit me just now."

"What did?"

"I never would have expected you to be the doting protective type," Rantarou noted. "In fact, I never would have expected you of all people to be the one to welcome a bunch of kids who wanted to kill all adults into the group."

"They were manipulated into it, just like Shinguuji-chan and Harukawa-chan," Kokichi answered, "but, me saying that might just hinge on me not being affected by their attempts personally."

"So, things might change if you had been hurt by them?" Rantarou asked as they entered the elevator together.

"You tell me," Kokichi said. "If you learned that Komaeda had been manipulated into it, would you be able to forgive him?"

Rantarou froze.

A few floors passed by in Rantarou's silence.

"You've been thinking about this for a while, haven't you?" Rantarou asked in return. "I thought you were weirdly serious."

Kokichi shrugged.

"It hit me just now. I don't even know how I'd react to seeing the woman who killed DICE again, let alone interacting with her. Let alone forgiving her."

Rantarou sighed.

"It helps that they're kids. It helps that they're innocent. It helps that they never got to hurt anyone," he concluded, but...

_'If things had gone differently, our positions could have been reversed.'_

_'But, even you with your loving family could have been like me. One of the despairs is a girl who loved her siblings so much, she dedicated her life to them.'_

"There are lines you don't cross, but if you've been pushed there by someone trying to get you to go over the edge, well, it can't be fully your fault," Rantarou said, "but, at the same time... I don't know if I can forgive him. Even if he was manipulated, he chose to kill my sisters. He jumped over that ledge himself."

"Is that so?" Kokichi asked.

"I guess I'd have to understand him more to find out," Rantarou replied.

"Do you even want to understand him?" Kokichi asked.

"In all honesty, some part of me just wants to lock up him for all eternity and forget about it," Rantarou admitted. "Even if I understand, it won't bring them back. And understanding a madman feels like a step on the way to going mad myself."

"But," Rantarou said, almost in a trance, "I still want to know. I want to know why they died. I want to know why he did it. I want to know if there's enough of them left to bury."

"I hope you get to find out," Kokichi said, eyes moving carefully.

As they exited the elevator, in the brief gap between elevator camera and hallway bugs, Kokichi snuck a keycard into Rantarou's hand.

At Rantarou's questioning look, Kokichi simply raised his index finger to his lips.

Getting the message, Rantarou tucked the card in his pocket as he casually asked, "you said you didn't know how you'd act around that woman, right?"

"Yeah," Kokichi admitted, picking up the conversation starter without missing a beat. "I know everyone else was happy with their punches, but DICE was my family. My home. And she took that from me."

"It might not be that they're exactly happy," Rantarou offered. "I mean, Momota-kun can undo the air pollution, but Kiibo-kun still has blood on his hands. Angie-san and Toujou-san's people are dead. You can't fix that with a punch, but it'll give you some catharsis at least."

"I suppose so," Kokichi said, before sighing. "Ah, and I was trying to set that aside to focus on the mission..."

"It's pretty hard when the mission involves someone who hurt you deeply," Rantarou noted. "I don't have the answers, but I think you'll be fine without them."

Kokichi looked up at Rantarou with a curious expression on his face.

"Don't look so confused," Rantarou said. "I mean, everyone's with you. The kids, Akamatsu-san, and me too. I won't just forget that you captured the man who killed my family."

Kokichi kind of just froze, unused to these kinds of words.

Then, he awkwardly offered up, "thanks, I guess," as a response.

Rantarou just laughed, which was around the point they reached Tsumugi's cell.

"Hey, Kaede, you in here?" Kokichi asked as he opened the holding room's door.

A reinforced glass door flanked by steel bars separated Tsumugi from the door outside. The glass door was bulletproof and fireproof, selected to provide easy view of a prisoner's cell.

This transparency made it very easy to see that Kaede was sitting on the bespectacled girl's bed. She patted the blue-haired girl's head as she sobbed on Kaede's shoulder.

"Oh, hi," Kaede greeted him casually.

"What happened here?" Rantarou asked.

"Well..."

* * *

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Hey there.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** What do you want?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Just to talk to you.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** Don't lie to me! I won't fall for it!

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** You need something from me, right? That's why all of you remember me! That's all you need me for! That's why you bother to remember I exist!

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** I can take it, if you remember I exist, I can take being used, but I won't be looked down on! I won't be looked down on for being the way I am!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Are you scared?

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:**...what?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** You seem anxious, really. Like you're worried about us hurting you, or forgetting you...

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** W-what's it to you?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** I feel bad.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** For me?! Don't mess around! If things had happened differently, you'd be the one in here!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Maybe.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** There's only one **reality** , but behind that truth is infinite possibilities.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:**...what does that mean?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Sure, there's a world where I'm the despair and you're the hope.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** But, there's also a world where we could have been friends. And I wish we were in that world.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:**....what?!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** I mean, I look at you and I feel like I _understand_. Like, I _was_ you at some point. We were both hurt by people, and we were both desperate for a friend...

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** But, I was inspired by Naegi Makoto. You were inspired by Enoshima Junko and her despair.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** If we met before all this talk of hope and despair... as just a pair of lonely, isolated girls, could we have been friends? Like we were when you said we could play a flute and piano duet together?

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** That was a lie! I was trying to trick you so that I could betray you!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** I know. But it doesn't have to be, right?

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** D-don't mess with me! You're just trying to manipulate me! You're just trying to trick me! You're just trying... trying to-!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** I'm not Enoshima. And I never will be. Even if I despair, there will be people to save me. 

**Shirogane Tsumugi:** So... so what? Are you trying to save me? Do you really think I need to be saved?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Do you want to be?

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:**...?!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** What do you _want_ , Shirogane Tsumugi? Power? Money? Fame? Love? Acceptance?

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** What...?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Because I can tell you exactly what _I_ want!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** I want to know you! I want to understand! I want to find out if a member of despair can truly be reformed! I want to learn how you got this way!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** I don't want it to end like this! I don't want you to be shipped off to some prison without even a goodbye. Without us even _attempting_ to get answers from you...

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** I don't know if this is manipulation. I don't know if I'm using you for my own selfish ends. I don't know what will happen from here on out.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** But will you let me try to find out? Will you let me talk to you until I have an answer?

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** I... 

**Shirogane Tsumugi:** I.....!!!!

* * *

"And then she started crying, so I went into her cell and hugged her," Kaede concluded, patting Tsumugi's head.

Kokichi had exactly one reaction to this.

"I think you broke her, actually."

"...or maybe you just built her up," Rantarou said, completely oblivious to what he just said.

"Okay so can we make everyone come in here now?" Kaede asked. "I don't want to do that thing. The possible manipulation."

"Kaede."

"No, I'm serious. Please. I don't want to manipulate Shirogane. I don't want to go down this path."

"Kaede."

"Like, Amami-kun, can you take over-"

"Kaede!" Kokichi interjected. "She's kind of in such a bad mental state that pretty much anyone can accidentally manipulate her! You switching out won't help!"

"I'm inclined to agree," Rantarou added. "She begs her enemies to remember her name."

"If you don't want to manipulate her, then just make sure to build her up into something solid," Kokichi said. "Someone that won't crumble the moment you walk away."

Kaede hesitated.

And then Tsumugi pushed herself away from Kaede.

"Don't talk like I'm not even here," she said, approaching the glass door to glare at the boys up close. "I don't appreciate it."

"I don't appreciate being thrown into a killing game, either, but we don't always get what we want, do we?" Kokichi retorted immediately.

"Ouma-kun, you're going to destroy every bit of progress Akamatsu-san made if you don't learn when to keep your mouth shut," Rantarou noted.

"What did I say?!" Tsumugi snapped, grabbing a pair of sewing scissors from the top of her dresser and throwing it at the pair.

They instantly moved away from the projectile's predicted arc, the sound of metal clanging against metal resonating around the room.

The scissors had hit the steel bars, clattering to the floor.

Their owner followed soon after, sleeping dart lodged in her back.

"Sorry I didn't move sooner," Kaede said, putting her dart gun back in her suit jacket's hidden inner pocket.

Kokichi watched as she confiscated the scissors and carefully removed the dart from Tsumugi's back, putting the other girl on her bed, before whispering, "I love her," to himself.

"Oh, trust me," Rantarou said casually. "We all know."

That sort of quiet, remorseful, and kind of awkward mood was what surrounded the three as they returned to their quarters.

This was the sort of mood they were in when they discovered a "gift" with only one possible sender.

Himiko was pale as she showed them the glossy photos, the pictures of blood and gore and their dead loved ones. The last few were pictures of them, capturing the despairs. Of them, in their rooms. Of them on their day off.

"Koizumi Mahiru," Himiko stated in a horrified tone of voice. "She's been watching us this entire time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> rip ouma lol


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i remember how i tried to say that the main story of the prequel could be interpreted as platonic but also it involves kaede and ouma regularly sharing a bed and a room even when theyre provided separate rooms, in and out of the simulation, ouma getting very jealous, and also shirtless ouma straddling kaede on a chair while tying her tie for her and giving her a pep talk
> 
> i dont think i know what platonic means actually

"She got into the Future Foundation," Kaede realized. "Did anyone see who dropped off these photos?!"

"They were just slid under the door," Monaka reported. "Monaka was the one who found them."

"Then, there should be camera footage of the person—" Kokichi froze. "The Foundation's camera footage. That's how she was watching us. She didn't somehow manage to sneak in here and take those pictures, she just took over the existing security camera network!"

"So, we need to not just warn the others about a possible traitor, but that our security itself has been compromised..." Shuuichi said.

"I'll start sending messages to security and Kirigiri-san," Korekiyo said, taking out his communicator.

"Let's hunt down Koizumi, now," Himiko declared. "It doesn't matter if she can watch us if we take her down first, right?"

"You're getting ahead of yourself," Maki replied. "If she can watch us, she can figure out our plans and set up a trap in advance. She might even just run away somewhere we can't find her. Hell, she might even have warned the other despairs to be prepared for us."

"Dammit...!" Himiko cursed.

"Let's just keep calm for now," Kaede suggested. "We need to secure the Future Foundation itself against threats before anything else."

"But, Koizumi..."

"I know you want to avenge your master," Tenko said, "but you can't throw yourself at a chance for revenge..."

"She could be hurting other people just like she did to me and my master!" Himiko snapped. "I don't care about revenge! I care about stopping a sadistic monster!"

The room went silent at Himiko's outburst, some of the kids even starting to shake in fear.

"Shh, shh, it's okay, Yumeno-san won't hurt you..." Gonta tried to reassure a teary-eyed Masaru.

"Then, when we get info on her location, we'll send our little assassin to meet her," Kokichi said. "After all, a real assassin can sneak up on even the most prepared, right?"

"Alone?" Kirumi asked.

"We can't afford alerting her, and a huge group going to see her would be alarming," Rantarou said. 

They were playing a sort of game, really. Pass the information to each other without alerting the eavesdropper. Hide the identity of the assassin they were sending.

"As long as it's not Akamatsu and Ouma. Two people sneaking out together is just asking for another **lovers' rendezvous** ," Ryoma said, providing an immediate solution.

Send two people, pretend they're dating. That way, the two could sneak out without making Koizumi suspicious.

"Of course not," Kaito laughed. "We would never let more people be that irresponsible."

"We're plenty irresponsible and we would totally turn a blind eye to our friends having that sort of fun," Miu declared.

"Urgh, urgh, enough!" Kaede exclaimed, having to refrain herself from grinning. "Let's just go! Shinguuji-kun, Amami-kun, round up everyone on this floor who might have seen the delivery person. Saihara-kun, Hoshi-kun, go and give Kirigiri-san the photos. Kiibo-kun, Iruma-san, check on the camera system."

After some thought, she added, "Angie-san, Yumeno-san, bring the kids to the airship. It's the safest place now that the Future Foundation has been compromised. Gonta-kun, go with Amami-kun and Shinguuji-kun, Chabashira-san, same for Saihara-kun and Hoshi-kun. Momota-kun, Harukawa-san, Toujou-san, you'll all have to go with Kiibo-kun and Iruma-san for safety in numbers."

"And us?" Kokichi asked.

"We need to see Shirogane again," Kaede stated. 

"Understood," Maki reported.

With a nod, the others went to go about their work.

"Couldn't have led them better myself," Kokichi said proudly.

"Then lead them together with me," Kaede replied. 

"Of course I'm not letting you do it alone. I'm not letting go of you again."

Holding hands, they walked into Tsumugi's cell.

* * *

**Chabashira Tenko:** What they've said is the truth, I swear.

 **Kirigiri Kyouko:**...

**Kyouko pulls out a laptop from under her desk.**

**Kirigiri Kyouko:** The white cord behind the bookshelf, if you'd please.

**Ryoma hands over the cord. Kyouko connects it to her laptop and starts working...**

**Saihara Shuuichi:** Why do you have that hidden behind a bookshelf...?

 **Kirigiri Kyouko:** The camera in this room is angled so that you can't see behind the bookshelf. I "accidentally" dropped the audio bug in the vents, so all the audio is corrupted. 

**Kirigiri Kyouko:** This room is the safest place in the entire Future Foundation for passing information you wouldn't want others to hear.

 **Hoshi Ryoma:** So, what are you doing?

 **Kirigiri Kyouko:** Pulling up the security footage, finding the person who dropped off the files, then deleting anything that could be used against you.

 **Kirigiri Kyouko:** Ah, here. 

**Shuuichi, Tenko, and Ryoma gather around to see a freckled girl with black hair, dressed in the uniform of the Future Foundation.**

**Kirigiri Kyouko:** Alter Ego. Please track this woman's movements and actions in the footage.

 **???:** Of course!

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** Alter Ego?

 **Kirigiri Kyouko:** A program from our time in the killing game. Made by Fujisaki Chihiro. 

**Kirigiri Kyouko:** It's something of a ghost. A helpful spirit that lingers after death, if that were to make any sense...

 **Alter Ego:** At exactly 5:17pm, the woman used a keycard to unlock the elevator.

 **Alter Ego:** The keycard belongs to a Future Foundation secretary named Satonaka Satou, though my data says that her face and the face on her documentation don't match up exactly... 

**Chabashira Tenko:** In disguise...?

 **Alter Ego:** Here are her files.

 **Kirigiri Kyouko:** Thank you. 

**Kirigiri Kyouko:** I'm sending this information to each of your handbooks. 

**Saihara Shuuichi:** Thank you.

 **Kirigiri Kyouko:** Our hopes are resting on you. Be careful.

* * *

 **Iruma Miu:** Shut it off, quick! We can't fuckin' afford to have our plans compromised like this!

 **Hagakure Yasuhiro:** I'm hurrying, I'm hurrying!

 **Kiibo:** Looks like we got an update... she was in disguise...?

 **Toujou Kirumi:** Name, division, address—!

 **Harukawa Maki:** Well, we'll leave it to you, then.

**Maki grabs Kaito by the sleeve.**

**Harukawa Maki:** If we're all going to die, I'd at least want to have some fun first.

 **Momota Kaito:** What kind of attitude is that?

 **Harukawa Maki:**...

 **Momota Kaito:**...oh. Oh wait, okay.

 **Toujou Kirumi:**....I'll just work harder for the two of you, then.

**Maki and Kaito leave to hunt down Koizumi's posted address.**

* * *

**Angie Yonaga:** Come on! Don't worry! Let's play a game!

**The kids are silent.**

**Yumeno Himiko:** I'm sorry for snapping earlier.

 **Yumeno Himiko:** Truth is, there's lots of bad people in this world. That's why it's so important to put a stop to them before they hurt people like you and me.

 **Daimon Masaru:** You're not getting tricked into wanting to hunt demons?

 **Shingetsu Nagisa:** No, if anything, it's like hunting our parents...

 **Yumeno Himiko:** Hey, how about, for now, you tell us stories? About you, your dreams, anything. We'll listen.

 **Angie Yonaga:** Yep, we will!

 **Towa Monaka:**...Monaka wants to go back home to our rooms, and play again...

 **Utsugi Kotoko:** Yeah...

 **Kemuri Jataro:** When this is over, can we make masks again?

 **Angie Yonaga:** Yeah! It's an Angie promise!

 **Yumeno Himiko:** Be good, okay?

**Himiko's communicator goes off.**

**Amami Rantarou:** _Alright, we're bringing over the interns. Take care of them, okay? They're just as scared as the kids are._

 **Yumeno Himiko:** Got it.

**Angie and Himiko wait for Rantarou's group.**

* * *

**Munakata Kyousuke:** Explain. Now.

 **Hagakure Yasuhiro:** U-um...

 **Kiibo:** Th-there's no need to point a sword at Iruma-san!

 **Iruma Miu:** Calm your tits, edgelord! I'm saying that this security system has been compromised! A member of the despairs has managed to infiltrate and spy on us! 

**Toujou Kirumi:** Our supervisor sent us information that indicates that there is a **traitor** within the Future Foundation. Satonaka Satou. 

**Munakata Kyousuke:**...tch...

**Munakata grabs his communicator.**

**Munakata Kyousuke:** Gather all the employees of every division! We will weed out this despair, and all others in hiding!

 **Toujou Kirumi:** May I interject?

 **Munakata Kyousuke:** What.

 **Toujou Kirumi:** I can only say this in confidence because the security cameras and bugs have been shut off... so, we've already sent two members to investigate Satonaka Satou's residence. Calling every employee here may be a tad hasty.

 **Munakata Kyousuke:**...

 **Munakata Kyousuke:** Not bad. 

**Munakata Kyousuke:** Get this mess cleaned up soon.

**Munakata leaves...**

* * *

"It's actually pretty close to the headquarters..." Maki noted as Kaito drove.

"Makes sense, actually," Kaito replied. "She was posing as an employee, right?"

"But, this file says that this woman has been employed for years... did she kill someone and impersonate her? Or was she a traitor this entire time?"

"Suppose we'll have to ask her in person!" Kaito responded.

They parked the van near the apartment building, then checked their handbooks once again.

"Second floor, room 641," Maki told him.

"How're we gonna do this?" Kaito asked.

Maki scanned their surroundings, before telling him the plan.

His reaction was a simple, "you want me to walk in through the front door of a despair's hideout, no idea what the hell's in there, and be as loud and annoying as possible."

"Is it going to be hard?" Maki asked.

Kaito paused.

"Alright, then we have a plan!"

* * *

Kaito made it past the dark, creepy, run-down apartment's entrance without a hitch, which only made him hesitate as he approached the stairwell. There was no way the elevator would work with an entire door broken off, so he pushed open the door to the stairwell...

The stairs circled around the room, making a long, empty column of space down the middle. Without the lights on, Kaito couldn't see the top, only darkness above...

He managed two steps up the dark, creepy, semi-broken down apartment's stairwell before a flash went off in his face.

He accidentally let out a scream, prompting laughter.

"What, you think I'm a ghost or something?" A voice above asked.

He looked up to see a woman with short red hair, dressed in slacks and a white dress shirt. Around her waist was some sort of holder or holster...

She held her camera by the strap and one side as she hung upside down from the third floor's railing.

"What the hell?!" Kaito demanded upon seeing her.

Koizumi Mahiru laughed, pulling a gun-like device from her waist holster and shooting up at a higher railing. It was a grappling hook, he realized, seeing the hook wrap itself around a handrail.

Using it as a bungee cord, she daintily landed in front of Kaito.

"Nice scared face. Want to see your photo?" Koizumi asked.

Kaito made a grab for her grappling hook, only for Koizumi to pull a switch and quickly ascend, practically jumping over his head.

"Sorry, that's not going to work," Koizumi said, landing behind him. "I've been trained by Akane-chan and Nekomaru-kun, so I'm a lot better in a fight than you'd think."

Kaito lunged for her again, only for her to reel herself up.

"Urgh, weren't you listening? Jeez. You're hopeless."

Kaito gritted his teeth as he started climbing the steps. He noticed that she was ascending slowly enough that she was just barely out of his reach.

"Are you fucking taunting me?!" Kaito demanded.

"Pretty much, yeah," Koizumi replied, snapping another picture of him. "Your frustrated face, your anger, your despair... I wanna see them all."

She swung to avoid a sleeping dart, grinning.

"I hate staged photos more than anything. A photo is a slice of time, a moment forever preserved... so why would I want to remember a lie? A fake moment showing fake happiness... it's disgusting!" Koizumi exclaimed as Kaito climbed more and more steps to reach her.

Another flash of light.

"So show me your earnest, genuine faces! Your joy, your anger, your sadness, your despair!" Koizumi declared, swinging in a wide arc.

"Quit wasting my time!" Kaito screamed, shooting more and more darts at her.

Koizumi's response was to simply drop her line entirely, falling underneath his shots.

Kaito watched with baited breath, hands tightly grasping the damaged handrail as she fell, before she hooked herself on the railing between Kaito's hands.

She aimed a kick directly at his face with all the momentum of suddenly ascending seven floors. Kaito barely managed to dodge it, falling back to the floor.

Koizumi grinned down on Kaito, standing on top of the railing. She snapped another photo, unhooking herself and jumping off just as Kaito lunged for her legs.

"Isn't insanity trying the same thing, over and over again and expecting a different result?" Koizumi asked haughtily, swinging across to the eighth floor's stairs. "Why do you keep trying?"

"Why are you toying with me!?" Kaito shot back.

"To trap the team's best fighters, duh," Koizumi replied.

"What...?"

Koizumi laughed.

"You know, Komaeda-kun told us about her. The girl called Enoshima the second," Koizumi said. "We waited, and waited, and waited for more news about our new Enoshima, but it never came... our hope for despair was never answered."

Koizumi sat down on the railing, legs crossed at the ankle as she gave Kaito a smug grin.

"Hey, did you really think we wouldn't notice how our friends kept disappearing? Dropping off the map? We're not stupid," Koizumi said, swinging over to taunt Kaito from up close. She hung in front of him, just out of his reach...

Kaito wanted to move to grab her, but he caught sight of something moving...

"You fell for it," Koizumi said with a bright smile, just as Maki burst in from the eighth floor's door.

"Stop fucking moving so many damn floors!" Maki screamed, shooting Koizumi in the neck with a sleeping dart before the despair could react. "It's a pain!"

Koizumi's unconscious body fell forward, hands relaxing their grip on the camera and the grappling hook.

"Shit!" Kaito lunged forward, grabbing Koizumi by the collar. Her shirt began to rip, so Kaito hurriedly moved his hands to her arm instead.

The camera smashed into the ground floor as Maki made her way over.

"You okay?" Maki asked.

"You're late!" Kaito replied with a grin as she helped him get Koizumi over the railing.

"If she _stopped going up and down so much_ , I would have been able to step in sooner..." Maki grumbled.

"Yeah, but there's something she said... she said we fell for a trap," Kaito told her.

"What...?"

* * *

"What do you mean?!" Kaede demanded, eyes panicked.

"I told you," Tsumugi said, sitting down on her cell bed calmly. "Koizumi-san doesn't have the technological prowess needed to hack into the Future Foundation's systems. Not alone."

"So, you're saying...?" Kokichi asked.

"Kamukura must have found you interesting," Tsumugi stated, just as an impact rocked the building.

Kokichi and Kaede tried to hold themselves steady as the ground rumbled.

"I sincerely hope you do well in this little game," Tsumugi said with a serene smile.

 _'We're under attack!'_ The couple's communicators blared out. _'Several members of SHSL Despair are attacking the headquarters!'_

* * *

A man with long black hair and red eyes stood on top of an office building.

He watched with almost apathetic eyes at the army before him, a mix of masked fighters armed with fists, guns, and drugs. Some were riding atop the backs of beasts and Monokuma bots, while a girl with multicoloured hair was riding atop the back of a winged beast that could have only come from some sort of children's fairytale. 

With the speakers she carried around, her voice easily reached his vantage point, even without the walkie-talkie he had.

"Come on, everyone! Let's go save our friends! Ibuki will sing her very best song for the occasion!"

"I don't need you to tell me what to do," Saionji Hiyoko replied through her communicator. "But, just for your information, anyone can use my family as they wish! I want you to kill as many as possible, in fact!"

"That's counter-productive," Kuzuryuu Fuyuhiko said. "Just send 'em to Mikan if you hate them so much."

"I take good care of all my patients, I promise!" Tsumiki Mikan declared.

"Or to the Old Man!" Owari Akane suggested.

"I'll whip 'em into shape," Nidai Nekomaru stated.

"Urgh, I don't care as long as they die eventually. Let's just get this started!"

"As you wish!" Tanaka Gundham proclaimed, ordering his monsters forward.

Ibuki laughed, before sending another sonic blast at the building. The "bird" she was riding on was deaf, as were the rest of its engineered race, so they were completely unaffected by her aerial blasts.

"I wonder... which one of you will prevail?" Kamukura Izuru muttered, watching the army charge forward.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE FUTURE FOUNDATION HEADQUARTERS IS IN A LAKE RIGHT I FORGOT EVER WATCHING DR3
> 
> so anyways. the interns are only toko, yuuta, and komaru, because if i say that the other people rescued from towa were interns, i would have to remember that kanon exists, and i dont want to, because then i would have to both tackle her issues with the future foundation and the FACT THAT SHE WANTS TO FUCK LEON, BECAUSE ONE LEADS TO THE OTHER. so shushhHHHHHHHH

It was a simple plan.

Stir up unrest in the Future Foundation with their traitor stunt, distract the group's best fighters with Koizumi, then attack while they were on the ground.

It was so simple.

"...so boring," Kamukura found himself saying.

* * *

"Hah.... hah... this... is unreal..." Shuuichi said, staring at the army out the window in horror. It was more like he was hyperventilating than breathing...

There were only so many guards out front, and they were completely unprepared for an attack of this scale...

Mutant draconic birds in the sky... an army of robots, animals, and humans... the building being shaken by sonic blasts...

"What do we do...?" Tenko asked, a question no one could answer.

* * *

"Mindless Monokuma robots, mutant creatures, an army..." Kiibo reported into his communicator.

"Shit...! Shit!" Miu screamed.

"No worries! It'll be okay!" Yasuhiro exclaimed. "My fortunetelling confirmed it!"

The others hesitated.

"We need to evacuate as many people as possible," Kirumi declared into her communicator. "Get everyone as far as possible!"

 _"We can't possibly evacuate when they're right in front of us!"_ Ryoma replied.

"Dammit...! We need more time...! We need some way of buying time!" Kirumi screamed.

* * *

"If the Future Foundation falls, there's no more hope for this world..." Korekiyo said, eyes dark as he watched from the airship's windows.

"Shinguuji--" Rantarou was cut off by Korekiyo pulling out a knife.

"I'll make this painless," Korekiyo promised, advancing on the group.

"Stop!" Angie screamed, pushing Rantarou behind her. "What are you doing?!"

"There's no more hope left. We might as well keep them from the satisfaction of killing us!"

"You don't get to decide when we give up," Angie retorted with a snarl. "I warned you, didn't I?! If you tried it, I'd kill you!"

"Stop it!" Gonta interjected, pushing them away from each other. "We cannot fight now of all times! We have to stay united!"

Himiko sighed.

"We need to fight for our lives."

"...what's going to happen to us...?" Komaru asked in fear.

"H-hey, calm down, okay? We're... we're going to be fine," Yuuta tried to promise her, despite shaking himself.

"We cannot afford t-to give up now!" Toko declared. "In the darkest despair... sticking together and having hope is our only option!"

As she said that, another sonic blast rocked the building.

And then...

And then...!

* * *

"Here," Tsumugi said, pulling out a bundle wrapped up in a blanket. She had a sly grin on her face as she handed it to Kaede. "It's a gift."

Kaede opened it, her eyes widening at the sight.

"Kokichi. I have a stupid, terrible idea."

"I was waiting for you to say that," Kokichi said with a smirk.

"Thank you!" Kaede screamed at Tsumugi, before taking off running.

* * *

_**"We have been waiting! Waiting so very long for peasants such as you to appear!"** _

Screaming words she would never be able to forget at the top of her lungs, words that made each survivor, each witness of the Killing School Life flinch in horror at the thought of a ghost rising up from the grave--

Enoshima Junko the Second made her appearance!

Armed with nothing but a megaphone, her presence made the conflict freeze in place.

"It's her..." Tsumiki said breathlessly.

_**"Seriously, you're too late! You're so boringly, despair-inducingly late! It's terrible to leave such a gorgeous, innocent girl waiting so long! How could you?!"** _

Putting herself at the front of the battle, in a place where both ally and enemy could shoot her down instantly, she continued moving forward, capturing everyone's eyes.

Giving everyone the time they needed...!

* * *

_"The robots... they're the same as when we confronted Souda and rescued Ouma-kun!"_ Kiibo realized, reporting it to everyone.

_"But... but, Monaka didn't... I didn't make them! I thought they were all destroyed! I'm... I'm so sorry...!"_

_"It doesn't matter where they came from, as long as we can still destroy them all,"_ Rantarou replied. _"So calm down, okay?"_

Shuuichi got an idea.

"The hacking guns! We left them in the airship!" he screamed into his communicator. "Distribute them amongst everyone, use the Link bullet to control the robots and make them attack their own allies! Cause disruption in their ranks long enough for the defence force to regroup!"

 _"Got it!"_ Himiko replied. 

_"I like the way you think, Saihara-chan!"_ Kokichi chimed in. 

_"Ouma! Where the hell are you?!"_ Miu demanded.

 _"Breaking into the weapons department!"_ Kokichi said happily, already picking the lock. _"Drop by when you have the time!"_

 _"Alright,"_ Kirumi said.

Shuuichi looked to the others.

"This is my chance to beat Owari in a fight," Tenko said with a grin.

"Be sure to tell me Kuzuryuu's weaknesses," Ryoma added.

"Let's go meet up with Ouma-kun," Shuuichi said with a smile.

* * *

_**"Honestly! What do you even think you're doing?! How dare you call yourselves members of Ultimate Despair when you don't even realize the despair of having your plans fall apart as you're captured?! What is wrong with you people and your fuckin' brains, huh?! Do I have to slice them apart and fix you up myself?!"** _

_'Please... hurry...!'_ Kaede thought.

**_"You know how much I hate gross, icky brain stuff!"_ **

* * *

"I'll fly the ship! Everyone, get ready!" Monaka declared.

"But, the birds...!" Komaru exclaimed. "The musician too...!"

"I'll take care of it," Himiko promised.

"Here," Rantarou handed her a backpack-like object.

"Gonta will support you all the way!" Gonta added, handing her another gift.

Angie gave Korekiyo a brief glance.

"Atua has told Angie that everything will be alright. Have no fear and walk in the light."

With those words, she pulled Korekiyo along with her to the others.

"There's hope now," Korekiyo said. "So we must fight for this chance."

The interns nodded, faces grim as they readied their hacking guns.

"You guys stay here, okay?" Rantarou told the children. "Stay safe. We'll get you when we're done."

The airship started to take off...

* * *

"You ready?" Kokichi asked, grinning as he saw that Kirumi, Shuuichi, Ryoma, and Tenko had joined up with him.

Kokichi had already gathered several different types of weapons for easy access. The room was full of all sorts of goods Miu and Izayoi made together!

"We can't keep Akamatsu-san waiting," Shuuichi answered with a grin.

"Oh, and by the way, the garage is right over there," Kokichi pointed to the right.

"How delightful," Kirumi said.

* * *

_**"You are all failures! Failures as despairs! Failures in the eyes of Enoshima!"** _

_"Kaede, get every one of the guards out of the way!"_

Kaede gave a hopefully genuine grin.

**_"So, to me, guards! We will be victorious today!"_ **

Ripping off her wig, she cast it aside as the airship soared into the air. 

The guards retreated just enough to be safe as vans burst through the second story windows, gas pedals weighted down with special tennis balls and filled to the brim with bombs.

Explosions rang out as Kiibo took flight, Miu using an improvised jetpack to keep up with him as he started to shoot down the birds.

"Fight your hardest," Kaede told the guards, pulling out her sleeping dart gun. "It's not just our lives on the line, but the entire Future Foundation!"

They stood to protect the Future Foundation as the despairs' army surged forward!

* * *

"How cruel, how cruel, how cruel!" Mioda screamed, strumming her guitar intensely. "You don't get to cast us aside! _You don't get to ruin my life and throw me away!"_

The sound made Miu want to claw at her ears...!

Some of the windows of the Future Foundation building began to crack from the sound...

"Don't worry! I'm on my way!" Himiko exclaimed.

"Wait, wait, what?!" Kiibo demanded, turning just in time to see Himiko diving off of the airship above. "Yumeno-san?!"

"I know what I'm doing," Himiko said simply. 

Her staff began to glow as she chanted, turning around in midair to point it at the enemy...

"Now!"

Himiko broke open Gonta's glass container, unleashing a swarm of insects! They followed the light of her staff, launching themselves at Mioda and her birds!

"I'm going to leave the rest to you!" Himiko declared, falling past Kiibo and Miu.

"Yumeno-san!!"

Then, she activated the parachute Rantarou gave her, landing safely near Kaede's group.

"Worry about yourself first!" Miu ordered. "This distraction won't last long!"

"Got it!"

Miu launched herself directly at Mioda, dodging the flailing of the mutant bird to tackle her in midair.

The despair was so preoccupied with trying to regain control of her mount and swat away the insects that she couldn't even evade the attack. 

Her guitar smashed into the ground as Miu wrapped up the musician in her robot arms, descending to Kaede's group to drop off the new prisoner.

And that was when a needle struck her in midair, causing her to fall over the despairs' army. A group of unmasked people immediately carried her back to Tsumiki, who plucked the syringe from Miu's skin and released Mioda.

 _" **MIU!"**_ Kiibo screamed in horror, just as the birds began to shake off more and more of the insects...

He tried to fly towards her, but a claw swipe blocked his way.

Kiibo gritted his teeth, before preparing to shoot every single one of them down.

* * *

"Attack each other, attack each other!" Komaru screamed, shooting at the Monokuma bots from the deck of the airship, along with the other interns and the other members of the despair capturing group.

"You keep using the wrong bullets!" Toko yelled at her.

"It's fine, it's fine, after all, there's more than enough of us!" Yuuta declared. 

And then Komaru realized something.

"This one... if you hit the Siren Monokumas, the Monokumas nearby just start dancing," Komaru said, doing just that.

"This one... will knock them back, so use it to give allies room..." she said, preventing a Monokuma from beheading a guard.

"And this one..."

Her eyes widened.

"Tell Monaka to crash the ship into the water."

"What?" Rantarou replied instantly.

"Trust me!" Komaru exclaimed. "This is only slightly more crazy than every other thing you people have done today!"

Having no rebuttal to that, the others went inside the airship. Rantarou warned Kaede's group to back up as much as possible.

Monaka thought the plan was a great idea, apparently, given how she crashed the airship into the lake, sending waves of water over the despair army. 

"Paralyze bullet!" Komaru exclaimed.

With matching grins, the others began to spam their shots, sending lightning bolt after lightning bolt arcing through the Monokuma bots!

The electricity was enough to shock some of the despairs' squadrons, but the added explosions made a large hole in their ranks!

"Alright...! Alright! We did this!" Komaru cheered.

"Let's keep fighting!" Toko declared. "It's not over until one of us is completely wiped out!"

* * *

"I didn't think they would push us this far..." Tanaka said, before pulling out a special whistle.

_**"I SUMMON THEE, BEHEMOTH OF THE ABYSS!"** _

With a chime that was more vibration than sound, a draconic roar emerged.

The airship couldn't lift off in time... it was carried away by the waves as a massive being rose up from the lake's depths! 

The airship crashed into the ground between the Future Foundation and the despairs' army, laying on its side. It laid parallel to the shore, splitting the path between them into two.

"No way..." That was the general whisper amongst the Future Foundation's members as they stared up at the scaled monstrosity. 

"What... what can we do...? What do we even do against that...?" Yuuta found himself asking as the despairs' army charged around the airship, the vibration of footsteps shaking their bodies.

Angie and Korekiyo made eye contact, before Angie shook her head.

"We'll figure something out," Angie said. "Just as we always have."

"I'm..." Masaru stared at his trembling arm, before raising his fist to stop it.

"No, no, it's okay!" Angie interjected, grabbing his wrist before he could try it. "Even if you're scared... we will protect you. We will fight to keep you safe. So please don't hurt yourself."

"What are you... expecting us to do?" Nagisa asked. "Run?"

"Well, it would be better than asking you to fight," Gonta said. 

That was when an idea sparked.

"No! Asking us to fight is the best option!" Kotoko exclaimed.

"What?! Are you insane?!" Komaru demanded. "We're not going to let kids die here!"

"Our robots...!" Jataro realized.

Monaka's voice came on through the intercom, the controllers emerging from compartments in the wall. Though, since the airship was on its side, they popped up from under their feet.

"I refuse to run. I refuse to hide. I want to fight to protect this home we've found!" Monaka screamed, walking through the airship's control room door. "Are you with me?!"

The Warriors of Hope began to cheer.

* * *

"Holy shit," was all Kuzuryuu had to say at the sight of five giant flying robots attacking Tanaka's ace-in-the-hole. With drills, missile launchers, an ax, and a rifle... there was even one with all four and a staff, because Monaka had enlisted Komaru's help in controlling the complex thing.

"Huh... they might actually be turning this around," Nidai noted.

"No, they won't," Tsumiki said, lifting Miu up by the neck. "If we can't win a victory, we will at least make them taste despair!"

* * *

"You're late!" Kaede said with a grin as the airship group joined up with hers.

"Gonta apologizes deeply for the delay!" Gonta declared, before grabbing a python by the neck and tossing it into the lake water.

"At least you're here now," Himiko said.

"Yep, we are, so anyone got a plan?" Rantarou asked, pulling out his own dart gun. Next to him, Angie and Korekiyo pulled out their knives, Angie passing Yuuta her dart gun and a carving pick.

"Stand your ground as long as possible," Kaede ordered, just as the next wave reached them. 

Yuuta charged ahead, shooting a charging bull with three sleeping darts as he moved to kick a masked member of the Saionji family. Angie and Korekiyo instantly moved to flank him, keeping him from getting him too out of his depth. 

Gonta used the bull as a battering ram, apologizing to the animal as he threw its unconscious body. It knocked out several approaching despair gunners, something Rantarou appreciated greatly as he stole their weaponry.

 _"Testing, testing, one, two, three...? Is this working?"_ Kaede's communicator chimed as she dodged a lion's claws.

_"Looks like it, idiot pig barf."_

"What...?" Kaede paused.

"Don't get distracted!" Himiko screamed at her, smacking the lion away with her staff.

"Sorry, sorry!" Kaede exclaimed, moving to shoot the lion with a plethora of sleeping darts. Gonta tossed a fallen guard's pack of ammo to her, giving her more for when she had the chance to reload.

_"Hm, hm, well, if it's working, then I sincerely apologize. It seems that I've shot one of your members with a highly addictive brain-numbing drug, so if you wanted her back... sorry!"_

They heard Kiibo's anguished cry over the communicator, even as he blasted through another mutant bird, making it nosedive towards the face of the scaled behemoth.

_"What did you do to Iruma-san?!"_

The monsters began fighting, the bird using agility and speed to get past the larger monstrosity's strength and size. 

_"Were you not listening...? I shot her with a very addictive drug that only I have, so she will become one of my loyal patients. Seriously... it's rude to not listen when someone is talking..."_ Tsumiki sighed as the Warriors of Hope went to attack the flock of mutant birds, freeing Kiibo of being the sole aerial attacker.

 _"We won't just let you take her!"_ Kiibo screamed, spinning around to aim himself at the despairs' group.

Kuzuryuu's yakuza instantly started emptying bullet cartridges at him, but he stood his ground and kept flying!

_"Your determination is touching, really... it just makes me more and more excited for how you'll react when she attacks you herself!"_

_"Please consider this,"_ Kirumi's voice came in. _"Even if Iruma-san were to attack us, we are very stubborn and unwilling to let our friend go."_

Tsumiki's laughter came in through the communicator.

_"Fine by me! It makes the ensuing despair even better!"_

_"That was your one and only warning,"_ Kirumi stated. _"Get ready!"_

And that was when Kirumi burst through the third floor window on a modified motorcycle, Tenko and Ryoma sitting behind her, all three of them armed to the teeth. 

The modifications in question were a pair of improvised rocket boosters, by the way.

Just to clarify for a second.

There was a giant Godzilla-ish monster in the lake that was being fought with five giant robots. They had crashed an airship into a lake to destroy robots with a water plus electricity attack like some sort of sudden storm surge. Kiibo was fighting a swarm of giant mutant birds on his own. And Kirumi had just burst through a window on a rocket-boosted motorcycle with two passengers. 

And this was before Kokichi and Shuuichi started dropping weapons down for the Future Foundation to make use of.

A crate of swords landed on top of a mutant bird, pinning it to the ground. Then, Shuuichi made use of the rocket launcher they had found to empty out more of the despairs' ranks, careful to avoid his own allies, then Kokichi gave their allies more guns...

And then Kokichi got bored.

"I'm going ahead, 'kay?" Kokichi told Shuuichi.

"Mmkay," Shuuichi replied, his attention on what he could see through his scope and not at all on Kokichi's actions.

When he heard the revving of a motorcycle, Shuuichi just sighed, even when Kokichi crashed through the adjacent window.

It really said a lot about how much the group as a whole had been through together that Shuuichi's reaction was so mundane.

* * *

Kaede was in a bit of a pinch.

See, it turned out that posing as Enoshima made several despairs focus on her, judging from how she was shot at several times, with guns and drugs alike. 

Her friends were able to use this laser focus to their advantage, striking the shooters down before they could hit her, but this made for a troublesome situation when her friends were away handling the ranged fighters when melee acrobats were closing in.

She didn't have the time to reload in-between dodging punches and kicks, even though the guards were doing their best to get the fighters off her back.

And then Kokichi landed on the acrobats, motorcycle and all.

"Hey babe, need a ride?" Kokichi asked with an easy grin, passing her a helmet.

"I love you so much," Kaede replied, climbing on instantly.

"You shoot, I drive?" Kokichi asked as she reloaded her dart gun.

"Whenever you're ready!"

With a laugh equal parts exhilarated and insane, Kokichi drove on ahead!

"We're not going to let them use Iruma against us!" Kaede declared.

* * *

Shuuichi shot a few missiles at the mutant birds above, then turned his scope towards the despairs' army.

It was significantly smaller than it was before, with only a decently large group around the actual Remnants themselves remaining. They hadn't even made much progress around the airship, in fact, the Future Foundation members were the ones meeting them.

He spotted Kirumi dropping off Ryoma and Tenko in front of Kuzuryuu and Owari.

"Hoshi-kun," Shuuichi said through his communicator, explosions ringing out above him. "Kuzuryuu's surrounded by his guards. Find a way to get rid of them or separate him from the crowd."

 _"Got it!"_ Ryoma replied. 

He took out one of Miu's specialized weapons, a neon pink grenade, and served it into the crowd! Its detonation deactivated many of the bodyguard's Monokuma helmets!

"Keep it up, Hoshi-kun!" Shuuichi instructed, before looking up once again...

Ah, there weren't any birds left.

The kids had turned their attention back to the behemoth, who was distracted by chomping on the one bird's corpse. It had put up a good fight, judging from the claw marks on its scales.

 _"Saihara-san, help! Owari!"_ Tenko cried out, causing Shuuichi to refocus his attention on the battle.

He watched their movements carefully through the sniper's scope, before speaking.

"Don't use grapples on her. She's strong and flexible enough to escape them! She's fast and strong, but she relies on brute strength! If you can trick her, you'll win!"

With that kind of instruction in her head, Tenko whistled, moving to trip Owari up.

Owari dodged, only for Kirumi to charge directly at her!

The gymnast flipped away, but that meant she was in a precarious position when Tenko struck her in the stomach!

Ryoma jumped in, aiming another electrobomb right at her face! It didn't hurt her, the bombs only deactivated machines...

\-- but it gave Tenko the chance she needed to strike Owari down, beating her into unconsciousness!

"That's enough!" Nidai declared, stepping in, his helmeted army accompanying him. "We will be your opponent!"

He caught a dart a centimetre away from striking him.

The trio were very confused, considering that none of them were using dart guns, when they heard Kokichi's motorcycle.

"Dadada! We're here to save the day!" Kokichi exclaimed.

"Nice to see you around," Rantarou said, his group emerging from the other side of the airship.

Angie laughed as she went toe-to-toe with an acrobat, Korekiyo stabbing the member before she could be hurt.

Yuuta had gotten more used to shooting with one hand and stabbing with the other, using his athleticism to his advantage.

And Toko?

Well, it was more like Genocide Jack. And she was carving her way through with a mad smile.

"Looks like we're almost all together!" Kaede said with a grin, before grabbing her communicator. "Kiibo-kun, what's the status over in the centre of things?"

_"Well, um, it's..."_

Kiibo didn't say much. It took until Genocide Jack reached Nidai for them to hear more.

_"I thought you drugged her, you stupid swine!"_

_"I did!"_

_"Well fuck you, dumbasses! I don't feel fucking different at all! I'm always this fuckin'_ **[CENSORED]** _, you assholes!"_

_"She's resistant to our spells...! What an accursed being!"_

_"Shit! Take her down!"_

_"Fuck no! I have four arms, there's four of you, you get the math here, don't you?!"_

"...oh. Looks like we didn't have to worry at all, huh," Kokichi said blandly.

"We are not leaving Kiibo-kun and Iruma-san alone in the midst of this," Kaede stated.

"I wasn't going to suggest it!" Kokichi exclaimed defensively.

 _"So, I think the lizard might be down, by the way, if that's important,"_ Shuuichi reported as they charged on ahead.

 _"What happened?"_ Kirumi asked.

 _"Well, I shot it in the mouth with a bazooka, then Masaru-kun's drills went through its hand, then Jataro-kun's missile launcher and Nagisa-kun's rifle shot it in both its eyes, then Monaka-chan and Kotoko-chan's robots used their axes to carve matching wounds into its chest,"_ Shuuichi explained. _"Then it fell into the lake."_

 _"I kinda feel bad for it, actually,"_ Himiko noted.

It should be noted that this conversation was happening while Gonta, Genocide Jack, and Tenko were teaming up to attack Nidai, Rantarou was binding Owari, Angie, Korekiyo, and Yuuta moving to strike down Hiyoko's family members, Ryoma was disarming more and more helmets, and Himiko, Kokichi, Kaede, and Kirumi were charging ahead to strike down the remaining despairs.

Miu was actually doing pretty well, considering that she was literally alone in a crowd of enemies with nothing but four fists and an attitude, until Kuzuryuu's yakuza pointed their guns at her.

That was when Kiibo caught her, hurriedly flying her away from their gunshots.

"You okay?!" Kiibo demanded in a panic. "They didn't hurt you?!"

"Holy goddamn shit," was Miu's sole reaction.

"Iruma-san?!"

 _"That must be Iruma-chan for 'thanks,'"_ Kokichi joked.

* * *

"How the hell are we losing...?!" Saionji demanded. "This doesn't make sense...!"

Tsumiki began laughing madly as her patients formed a defensive wall around their group.

"It's so... frustrating... so despair-inducingly frustrating...! How beautiful!"

"I can't believe this," Mioda whispered, having woken up to them _being driven into a corner._

"Shut the fuck up and start running," Kuzuryuu ordered, pulling out a switch.

"Sorry, no way in hell we can let you guys escape."

The yakuza turned around to see Harukawa Maki and Momota Kaito, grinning triumphantly at the despairs...

Along with the Future Foundation's military forces.

"You guys did a pretty good job, holding out this long," Sakakura Juzo declared. "But now, it's time for us to intervene!"

"Surrender now!" Maki ordered.

Kuzuryuu's reaction was just to flip the switch.

The Monokuma helmets exploded at once. 

In the explosions, three despairs managed to escape...

But Koizumi was still tied up in Maki and Kaito's van. Owari was still unconscious.

Nidai couldn't run away, not with three people fighting him.

And Tanaka and Kuzuryuu stayed behind as bait.

The battle for the Future Foundation ended with a bang and five captured despairs, making for a total of eleven out of fifteen captured.

Kamukura Izuru watched them carry off the remains, the captives, the debris, the rubble, before disappearing.

It was a simple plan.

Stir up unrest in the Future Foundation with their traitor stunt, distract the group's best fighters with Koizumi, then attack while they were on the ground.

It was so simple.

And it had gone wrong in so many ways...

"Despair made an immaculate plan, but hope improvised in the face of certainty... making their way through with nothing but belief and each other..." Kamukura found himself saying. _**"Maybe hope is more unpredictable than you said."**_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i accidentally deleted half of it at first so i had to rewrite it..... oh fucking. well.


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> youtube keeps trying to drag me into saiouma but i am the deity of rarepairs and i cannot possibly ship a popular ship when my other ships are pekonami (rare), hiyobuki (rarer), celeshina (even more rare), and kuzumiki (FUCKING NONEXISTENT)
> 
> so to avoid possibly being dragged into saiouma, i try to watch oumaede amvs to counteract it.
> 
> long story short, there are like two if you dont count all the ten second snippets.
> 
> so basically im going to be hunted down and this will be turned into a saiouma fic and i will cry.

The despair capture movement group was completely exhausted by the time they made it back to their living quarters.

It wasn't just the fight, but the medical check-ups, the questions about what damages they made to the building, and what they did.... The only reason they hadn't had to write a report about what exactly they _did_ to save the Future Foundation was because Makoto felt bad for them. 

Which, well, was in part because of the sheer disorganization involved. No one person could give a complete overview on their actions, because their actions were less one big plan and more several risky stupid decisions coming together to give the impression that they had a bigger plan.

They were very happy when they finally managed to get inside their rooms and go to sleep...

Well, except for three.

Maki stayed up a bit longer, sharpening her knife in a promise to never let Mioda escape again. Kaito eventually had to drag her to bed and read a story until she fell asleep.

Korekiyo prayed at his handmade shrine for his sister a little longer than usual that night. He swore that he wouldn't let the woman who killed his sister and manipulated him escape again.

And Kokichi?

Kaede only tracked him down because of their handbooks. She had absolutely no idea how he managed to find a maintenance room that required several unintuitive turns down the hallway, unlocking two different rooms, and checking behind a water boiler to find an _incredibly_ well-hidden door. 

But that wasn't important.

"Kokichi?" she called out, opening the door. 

The room was dark and cold, a fine layer of dust on the floor. Machinery made vague shapes in her vision, making the room feel so much smaller than it was...

She shone her flashlight around, almost missing Kokichi in the darkness. He had been curled up behind some piping...

"...hey," Kaede said, kneeling in front of him. She showed him the blanket she had brought over. "Mind if I sit with you?"

Kokichi lifted his head, a blank expression on his face.

Then, he smiled.

"You know I could never say no to you, sweetheart!"

Kaede sat next to him, wrapping the blanket around their shoulders.

She took his hand, and Kokichi paused.

"I don't mind listening, but you don't have to talk if you don't want to," Kaede told him. "I just want to stay with you."

Kokichi let out a sigh.

Kaede kept talking.

"You said that you were okay if I was okay, right? It's the same for me," Kaede whispered. Kokichi rested his head on her shoulder, their hands resting on Kaede's knee. "I want you to be okay. And I want to help you when you're feeling doubtful or scared the same way."

Kokichi let go of her hand to wrap his arms around her instead. Kaede smiled as she patted his head.

"It's okay," Kaede promised. "No need to act strong. I love you."

"You're really too good for someone like me," Kokichi muttered, pressing his ear to the crook of her neck.

"Nope," Kaede replied. "I don't want you to think you need to deserve me or anything. You're the person I fell in love with, and that's enough."

Kokichi's grip on her tightened as he gulped.

"Let's just stay like this for a while," Kokichi said.

"Okay," Kaede answered with a grin, brushing his bangs aside to kiss his forehead. Her other arm snaked around his shoulders, hugging him back.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, when Kokichi spoke up.

"She escaped," Kokichi said softly.

"We're gonna catch her," Kaede swore.

"We were _so close_..."

"Yeah..."

"I hate this," Kokichi told her, grabbing at her shirt like he was scared of letting her go. "I hate her..."

Kaede ran her fingers through his hair carefully.

"DICE was my first family," Kokichi admitted. "We always stuck together, we were best friends, we lied and tricked and played pranks and had fun together..."

Kaede nodded along, even though he couldn't see her.

"We understood each other. We didn't talk about our pasts or why we were on the streets, but we didn't have to. We were each other's family. And she _took that from us_."

"Kokichi..."

"I always thought something about her was weird... she felt like she was putting on an act, but I didn't tell anyone...! I thought I could keep an eye on her by myself, I thought she was- I didn't think she was—!" Kokichi let out a shuddering sigh. "...I could have stopped her."

Kokichi wiped his eyes, refusing to let tears fall.

"I won't let her get away," Kokichi declared. "I won't lose another family. I won't lose _you_."

"Yeah, you won't," Kaede told him. "You'll catch her. _We'll_ catch her."

Kokichi's breathing was strained as he clung to her...

"It's okay to cry, Kokichi," Kaede said. "I mean, it's the woman who killed your family..."

"I won't," Kokichi answered. "DICE's goal had always been to make people smile. What kind of leader would I be if I turned my back on our entire philosophy?"

"Well, I think they'll be smiling down on you either way."

Kokichi snickered.

"They're more likely to make jokes about me somehow nailing a girlfriend like you."

Kaede gave him a soft smile.

"Hey, Kokichi?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you tell me about them, then?"

"Alright," Kokichi said, smiling as he traced patterns on Kaede's back, "we all met in the back room of this one restaurant in town, and we were not _at all_ supposed to be there..."

The story made Kaede laugh, and soon enough, Kokichi was laughing with her.

They laughed until they were quiet, Kokichi listening to Kaede's heartbeat.

"I don't know if I can forgive her," Kokichi admitted in the quiet. "I hate her for taking my family, but she was manipulated like the kids. I hate her for killing them, but I'm a killer too now. I hate her, but..."

"What do you want to do?" Kaede asked.

"Too tired to actually think too hard about it, I just want to go home and let my beloved girlfriend rest instead of having to take care of my sorry ass," Kokichi said bluntly.

"I'm in full favour of going home, but your ass isn't sorry," Kaede replied. "Even if your taste in underwear sucks."

"Checking me out, were you?" Kokichi asked with a cheeky grin. "Pervert."

"We share drawers," Kaede shot back. "It's borderline impossible for me to have _not_ seen them by now, considering that most of them are bright red and yellow."

"So, you want me out of them, then?"

Kaede paused.

"You. Sly. Bastard."

Kokichi laughed.

"You love me, remember, babe?"

Kaede groaned, saying, "yeah, I do," in exasperation as she rose up.

"You're coming, right?" Kaede asked, holding her hand out to him.

Kokichi grinned as he took her hand, letting her raise him up.

* * *

**Naegi Makoto:** Hey!

 **Naegi Makoto:** I know it's only been, uh, a day...

 **Naegi Makoto:** But the higher-ups want to call you. They're _very_ grateful to the people who saved the Future Foundation from this attack, see, so they're not just upgrading your living quarters, but they're calling for a celebration of your actions.

 **Naegi Makoto:** Though, they want to ask you when it should be, to make sure it won't interfere with your missions.

 **Naegi Makoto:** I guess it wouldn't be much of an exaggeration to say you're about as well-liked as our leader is... heck, you might even have as much influence all together, actually.

 **Naegi Makoto:**...be careful. This sort of reputation comes with costs.

 **Naegi Makoto:** But now's not the time for that. For capturing **Koizumi Mahiru** , **Owari Akane** , **Nidai Nekomaru** , **Tanaka Gundham** , and **Kuzuryuu Fuyuhiko** , you get this bounty.

**Received Bounty x 5.**

**Naegi Makoto:** Each one of your interns got **promoted** to full-time employee too. They're considered an official part of the **Despair Capture Effort** now.

**Class Change! Fukawa Toko became a Member of the Future Foundation!**

**Class Change! Naegi Komaru became a Member of the Future Foundation!**

**Class Change! Asahina Yuuta became a Member of the Future Foundation!**

**Naegi Makoto:** And, well, the children, they were officially considered prisoners with unconventional holding methods before.

 **Naegi Makoto:** But now, the higher-ups are willing to consider them **refugees** and offer their own quarters and schooling.

 **Towa Monaka:** No.

 **Kemui Jataro:** Please no.

 **Utsugi Kotoko:** No!

 **Daimon Masaru:** No way!

 **Shingetsu Nagisa:** Not interested.

 **Naegi Makoto:** Okay, I'll explain to the higher-ups, that, um... you... still... need to be prisoners...?

**Masaru breaks a vase.**

**Daimon Masaru:** I'm a problem child. I need a caretaker.

**The other children prepare to break things.**

**Naegi Makoto:** Okay, okay, wait, I get it, please put down the chair!

 **Naegi Makoto:** Hah.... where was I...?

 **Naegi Makoto:** Iruma-san needs to see Kimura-san for testing to make sure the drug isn't affecting her too much, celebration whenever you're ready, new house, um...

 **Naegi Makoto:** Oh! Oh yeah!

 **Naegi Makoto:** Because your plans were compromised by the security system, your new home won't have any bugs or cameras in them. You've earned that much trust, at least.

 **Naegi Makoto:** You guys are heroes now, so you'll be offered a lot of things by a lot of different people. Good and bad. Be careful, okay?

 **Naegi Makoto:** Keep up the good work!

* * *

"Heroes, huh? Never would have expected that," Rantarou said after Makoto left.

"Amazingly enough, we've been through a lot together," Shuuichi noted.

"Maybe it's the suspension bridge effect?" Korekiyo suggested.

"That's falling in love," Kiibo stated.

"The only ones who could have done that are Cockichi--"

Miu froze.

The children were staring at her in horror.

"That.... that was a swear word...?" Kotoko uttered. "That's the first time I ever heard Big Sis Miu swear...!"

"Holy shit! She's always telling people to watch their mouths, but--!?" Masaru exclaimed.

"Don't swear!" Miu screamed instantly.

"But you just did?!" Masaru protested.

"What was that?!" Maki hissed in a whisper.

"I wasn't even thinking...!" Miu whimpered back. "It just came out of my mouth!"

"I. It must be the drugs," Nagisa concluded. "It's because Big Sis Miu was shot with that weird drug. That's the only explanation."

No one really wanted to tell the kids the truth, so...

"Yeah, the drugs have a lot of weird side effects, you know?" Kokichi stated. "She just wanted to call us by our first names because of all we had been through together, but because of that weird drug, her tongue slipped up on my name! Don't worry, Miu-chan, I understand!"

"That is exactly it!" Miu declared. "Since, well, we've been through not just one killing game, but capturing the despairs, working together, raising kids, and even this attack! If this wasn't enough to make us lifelong friends, I don't know what will!"

Jataro and Monaka began applauding their earnest friendship.

"So, Kiibo-kun, Gonta-kun, Angie-san, Kokichi-kun, Tenko-san, Kaede-san..." Shuuichi muttered under his breath, trying to get used to the sounds.

"Don't think about it too hard, Shuuichi! It'll come naturally!" Kaito said, throwing an arm over his shoulders.

"Of course! Let's celebrate this milestone in our friendship!" Kiibo declared.

"I don't mind at all," Himiko said.

"Tenko will do her best for her friends!"

"Gonta too!"

"I will strive to do my best," Kirumi swore.

"Angie knows in her heart that the time has come...!"

"Well, in most cases, it's just less syllables," Maki grumbled.

Ryoma laughed, having absolutely no idea how something as terrible as a killing game gave him this amazing group of friends.

"If you do not mind me," Korekiyo said, before getting a nudge from Angie.

"Angie knows that _Korekiyo_ will join in as well, so he can be closer to his friends and thus _realize he should have more faith in them in a pinch_."

"Then, I will... do my best," Korekiyo stated.

"Ahahahaha, wow, alright, why not?" Rantarou asked.

"Ran-chan, your attitude needs adjustment!" Kokichi declared, making Kaede laugh.

"That's a cute nickname, actually!" she noted. "Any others?"

Kokichi thought it over, before pointing around the room.

"Shuu-chan. Ten-chan. Miko-chan. Rumi-chan. Kiyo-chan. Angie-chan. Kiibo-chan. Gonta-chan. Kaito-chan. Maki-chan. Miu-chan. Ryoma-chan..." he grinned mischievously, before pointing at Kaede and going, "Sweetheart."

"Stop that," Kaede retorted bluntly. "There is no possible way you can say the word sweetheart without being joking or messing around."

"Wow, you have absolutely zero faith in me as a person."

"I'm not wrong and you know it."

Rantarou began to laugh loudly.

"Well, glad we've established that! The name thing, not Kaede-san and Kokichi-kun being their absurdly affectionate selves, we already knew that second bit."

"Hey, Ran-chan! Shush!"

"He's not wrong," Jataro noted.

And then Kaede remembered something.

"Tsumugi. We forgot Tsumugi," she said.

"I'm sorry, you what?" Shuuichi asked as she started walking out of the room. "You want to--?! Kaede-san?!"

Five different concerned cries of "Big Sis?!" went after her, though Kaede was too focused to be deterred by them.

"Well, she's going to turn Shirogane over to the side of good through emotional support and head pats," Maki stated. "Though, I don't want to deal with her..."

Kokichi sighed, before going to follow after his girlfriend to keep her from doing something stupid out of sheer empathy and kindness.

"We'll be back soon, 'kay!" he told the others.

He quickly caught up to Kaede, exaggerating how much he had run after her.

Kaede rolled her eyes affectionately, before taking his hand and going down to see Tsumugi.

* * *

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:**...?

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:**?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Is... it not okay to call you Tsumugi-chan...?

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** IYAAAAAAAARRGH-?!

 **Ouma Kokichi:** What? _What is wrong with you?!_

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** Not even... not even senpai bothered to use my first name...! Ever....!? You... you?!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Oh my god why are you crying.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Kaede.... this. This is your problem now. I. I don't want to deal with this.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** She's not a problem! She's, she's Tsumugi-chan! Okay? So can we all just calm down-

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** You did it again. You did it again. You did it again. You did it again.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** My name. You remembered it. You remembered my name. 

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Um?

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** My existence. You remembered it. You remembered my existence. 

**Shirogane Tsumugi:** Ah... ahahahahahahahahahahaha! Ahahahahaha! Ahahaha _hahahaha_!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Are you okay? Why are you so fixated on us remembering that?

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** A plain girl such as myself will always be in the background, until she becomes someone else. She'll be ignored and forgotten and mocked, until she copies someone whose existence is worthy of being remembered....

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** Ahahahaha...! _Ahahahaha_ , I should have... I should have joined your side first... it's so much easier to be remembered than having to work for the despairs' approval!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Okay? Sure? You can?

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** By the way, I'd die for you.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** What.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Okay, I can understand that, but saying it so bluntly will just freak Kaede out, so don't do that.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** What do you mean you understand that?! _Kokichi?!_

**Long story short, Tsumugi might be fiercely loyal to Kaede now.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so anyways, places with no security cameras  
> \- (new!) v3 kids house  
> \- basement (prison of the remnants)  
> \- kyoukos office
> 
> i personally find it hilarious that kaede prefers being called "babe" to "sweetheart" in this fic but like. its kokichi. is he even capable of using sweetheart seriously? like, he can be casually affectionate and say babe,,, but sweetheart is so serious... so sappy... so seriously emotionally devoted,,,, he would fucking COMBUST if he tried to use it seriously. he is literally only capable of using it as a joke and KAEDE KNOWS THIS. SHE KNOWS HIM BETTER THAN SHE KNOWS HERSELF AT THIS POINT.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i remembered that angie and kaede and korekiyo were fucking dead at the time of the reveal that everyone in the group had been hurt by one of the despairs, so i'm just. assuming someone filled them in at some point but they've still got a vaguer idea of what this means compared to everyone else just knowing what happened to everyone else
> 
> ALSO THIS IS YOUR REMINDER THAT KOREKIYO AND HIS SISTER DIDNT FUCK WE ARENT HAVING INCEST IN THIS NO!!!!

Kaede didn't wake up to snoring, which honestly should have been her first sign something was wrong.

She immediately checked if she was holding Kokichi, and found that his warmth was still there. He was still hugging her tightly.

Opening her eyes, she found Kokichi staring at her face with a blank expression.

"Kokichi?"

"Kaede, it's three in the morning. Go back to sleep," Kokichi said quietly.

"How long have you been awake?"

"...it's not important," Kokichi told her.

"You're important to me."

Kokichi paused.

"I'm going to have trouble falling back asleep anyways," Kaede admitted, "so please..."

There was a long stretch of silence... Kaede almost thought he had fallen asleep before hearing his voice.

"Would you run away with me?" Kokichi asked.

"...what?"

"Away from all this death and despair and danger... away from all the lies and deception," Kokichi said. "Will you?"

"There's nowhere to run _to,"_ Kaede answered. 

Kokichi's grip tightened as he said, "I know."

Kaede hugged him back as he pressed his ear to the crook of her neck.

"I don't want this..." Kokichi confessed. "I... we _killed_ people. I don't know their names or their faces, but... they died because of us. All of us."

Kaede began combing her fingers through his messy hair.

"We're being called heroes for killing them. They were trying to kill us, but they were controlled, right? By those despairs, by those drugs, by those masks... I hated killers so much, but then there were exceptions and exceptions, and now I'm one of them... I went back on DICE's code...!"

Kaede didn't know what to say.

He knew it couldn't be helped, that the deaths they caused were the price for protecting themselves and the Future Foundation, the world's hope... he knew that already, so such placating words wouldn't help...

"Then let's make a world where you and everyone else won't have to kill," Kaede said. "You'll never ever have to kill again. We promised to make the world a better place, right?"

Kokichi sighed.

"What a mess... there's nowhere to run away to, but every day we fight to improve the world, we might have to kill... and every day, we're in danger..." his voice dropped in volume even more as he went on, Kaede only knowing he said something from the movement of air against her collarbone.

"Kokichi...?"

"It'd be nice if we could have met in a different world," Kokichi said softly, the words he said not at all matching up with the words she thought she might have heard. "Maybe we could have been classmates or something. I could have fallen for the smart, kind, amazing class rep or something."

"No, I'm only the way I am now because of the Tragedy and Naegi Makoto, you know?" Kaede replied. "I wouldn't be the person you met in the simulation. I would just be... closed off and untrusting, and I would want to get closer to people, but never reach out and blame people for not reaching out to me but push away people who tried..."

Kaede's face turned bitter...

"Sorry... but, I'm... I'm ashamed of who I was. I don't want you to see me like that," Kaede mumbled. "...it feels a bit pathetic, honestly..."

"Kaede, I've been hiding ugly parts about myself since the moment we've met, but you just kept on accepting me anyways," Kokichi said bluntly. "I can handle being untrusting and not being able to reach out to people right. We would have had that in common."

Kaede was silent as he kept talking.

"And besides, I've still accepted your impulses and your fidgeting, right? I don't mind the things that made other people think you were weird. Actually, I like the touching a lot," Kokichi admitted. "And your ideas always turn out good, despite the fact that they seem so _stupid_ and _dangerous_..."

He lifted his face to grin up at Kaede.

"I'm not leaving you alone, no matter what," he swore in the darkness. "Until the moment I put a ring on your finger, we're going to be fighting for a better world."

Kaede's reaction was a quiet breath of laughter.

"What is it with you and proposing to me while we're in bed?"

"Can you think of a better way to propose?"

"A way that lets me kiss you without stinky morning breath."

"I'm scandalized, Kaede, really. How could you _say_ such a daring and forward thing?"

"You _literally just proposed to me."_

They kept up that sort of dorky banter until it was an actual acceptable hour to be awake.

* * *

**Saihara Shuuichi:** Oh, you're up?

**Kaede's reply becomes a loud yawn...**

**Ouma Kokichi:** Unwillingly awake.

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** Well, I can understand why you'd have trouble sleeping... too bad they're asking us to move out tomorrow... it's gonna be so rowdy...

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Gwuuuuugh... do you wake up this early every day, Shuuichi-kun?

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** I've been awake for over twenty-four hours.

 **Ouma Kokichi:**...

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Why.

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** I couldn't sleep after the battle, so I just brought some files to my room to see if I could find out where those three despairs escaped to...

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Okay, no, no don't do that. Please take care of yourself. Is this a regular thing?

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** Um.

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** Nnnnnno....?

 **Ouma Kokichi:** No wonder you lost to a seven year old in Old Maid, Shuu-chan.

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** How do you know about that.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** You know what, you need to sleep. I will lend you my lap if that is what is needed. I'll even sing to you.

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** What.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** What.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** To help you sleep.

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** No, no, thank you, but no, I would die.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Of a lack of sleep.

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** I don't think you realize what's happening here. Do you even see the face Kokichi-kun is making right now.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:**...?

 **Ouma Kokichi:**...!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Are you seeing things?

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** No!

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Gosh, Shuu-chan, you must be so sleep-deprived right now! Go to bed, right now!

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Out of _friendly concern_ , I'll even be the one giving you my lap!

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** No, no, no, no, no, no, please, no, don't. 

**Ouma Kokichi:** _Fine_ , but at least hydrate! You need to hit at least one self-care base today!

**Kokichi passes Shuuichi an opened bottle of water.**

**Shuuichi accepts so that Kokichi will stop making faces threatening to kill him, only to fall unconscious after a few sips... Kaede hurries to catch him!**

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Did you just drug Shuuichi-kun with sleeping pills.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** He needed the sleep, right?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:**...Kokichi. What the hell.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** I got some more, if you want to rest after that battle...

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Why not use them on yourself?! That would have solved so many problems this morning!

**Kaede is completely exasperated as she drags Shuuichi over to the couch-bed.**

**The children are still sleeping... so Kaede puts Shuuichi on the end of the bed, across the space under their feet.**

**Ouma Kokichi:** Good job!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Please stop doing these things to people on our side. Kokichi. Please.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** 'kay. 

**Akamatsu Kaede:** _Kokichi._

 **Ouma Kokichi:** I promise, I promise, okay? I'd do anything you ask, you know that, right babe?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** You better be telling the truth, because if I find out that you've shot or drugged someone else, I'm going to kick you out of the bed.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** No! Kaede! Have mercy!

**Kaede ignores Kokichi's pleading...**

**New Task: Check Up on Everyone.**

* * *

**Toujou Kirumi:** How I feel?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** About everything, really. Not just the fight, but Hanamura too...

 **Toujou Kirumi:** Well, I'm a bit sore, but riding a motorcycle is rather exhilarating. I'm also very glad none of our group were seriously injured or killed. It does not befit me to be so preferential, but... I've grown attached to this group, and I wouldn't want any one of you to be hurt.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** I'm glad that you like us!

 **Toujou Kirumi:** Yes, and thank you for checking up on me... let's see, anything else...?

 **Toujou Kirumi:** It is a shame that we caused the deaths of several innocent, brainwashed people, but a handful of deaths in order to preserve the lives of the world is a small price to pay.

 **Toujou Kirumi:** But, Hanamura...? 

**Toujou Kirumi:** I'm grateful to you and the group that captured him. The fact that he's in custody is a relief, really.

 **Toujou Kirumi:** I won't deny it, some part of me wants vengeance, vindication for his acts against my people. But, it's more important that he can't hurt anyone anymore.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Yeah, that's a relief. I suppose it's forgive and forget.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Wait, not the forgive part. Sorry, I just blurted that out. I don't know what I was thinking.

 **Toujou Kirumi:** It's alright, Kaede-san. It was a slip of the tongue.

 **Toujou Kirumi:** Though, I cannot possibly forgive him.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:**...huh?

 **Toujou Kirumi:** A leader is but a representative of the people. All that means I speak the words of the people. Not the other way around.

 **Toujou Kirumi:** For me to forgive him would be to speak on behalf of every citizen he's hurt, every family member, every terrified survivor... I could never be so presumptuous. 

**Akamatsu Kaede:** I can understand that... thank you, Kirumi-chan.

**Kirumi doesn't have any significant physical or emotional problems at the moment, but she won't even consider forgiving the members of SHSL Despair.**

* * *

**Ouma Kokichi:** Yo, Ran-chan! How're you holding up? Your old man bones wear out yet?

 **Amami Rantarou:** Aren't you older than me?

 **Ouma Kokichi:** I sincerely hope not. That would be way too sad for you.

 **Amami Rantarou:** It's not my fault you still look like a twelve year old.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Wow, I can handle you calling me youthful and cute, but that's just disturbing.

 **Amami Rantarou:** Sorry, sorry, I forgot you hit puberty. You look more like a fifteen year old now.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Better.

 **Amami Rantarou:** So, how I'm holding up, huh? Well, I'm obviously not dead.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** We're going to be here all day if you list the obvious.

 **Amami Rantarou:** Ahaha, alright. Then, I've only got a few scratches and bruises, I'm still not sure about Komaeda, given all that he's done, and well...

 **Amami Rantarou:** Ha, this is going to sound weird, considering that I'm telling this to you of all people.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** What?

 **Amami Rantarou:** Truth be told, I'm having trouble being affected by the battle. Even though I'm trying to tell myself that there were people with names and faces amongst the people we killed, I can't get myself to believe it. I think I'm starting to see them as taller Monokuma bots, actually.

 **Ouma Kokichi:**...

 **Amami Rantarou:** It's kind of like the feeling you get when you watch the news and see a disaster that happened in a far-off country. It's pitiful, but I don't feel torn apart by guilt or anything. 

**Amami Rantarou:** You think there's something wrong with me?

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Well... it's hard to see them as people with the helmets and all, especially when they're trying to kill us. It's really, really easy to fall into the mindset of "it's us versus them" to rationalize it...

 **Ouma Kokichi:** So I can't blame you for it. But you might want to see the Future Foundation's therapist if you're worried.

 **Amami Rantarou:** Might do that, thanks.

**Rantarou isn't hurt physically, but he's a bit worried about how okay he is with people dying. He's still conflicted on the matter of forgiving Komaeda...**

* * *

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Korekiyo-kun! How are you?

 **Shinguuji Korekiyo:** You want to check up on me, correct?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Was it that obvious?

 **Shinguuji Korekiyo:** Well, I assumed that you would be worried about all of us, given your nature.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Yeah... I wanted to see if you were shaken by the fight or bothered by anything. You know, worried about killing people or something...

 **Shinguuji Korekiyo:** I was a serial killer. 

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Oh. Right. I forgot about that.

 **Shinguuji Korekiyo:** In fact, I might have actually reached my goal of killing a hundred people...

 **Akamatsu Kaede:**.....................

 **Shinguuji Korekiyo:** It isn't as satisfying as I thought, actually. Unless I'm mistaken, there was no sign of my sister thanking me from the heavens.

 **Shinguuji Korekiyo:** I really was just tricked into helping raise the body count...

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Tricked?

 **Shinguuji Korekiyo:** One of the despairs, Tsumiki Mikan... she tricked me into thinking that the only way to save people from this world was to send them to heaven, and it would even make my sister happy, too.

 **Shinguuji Korekiyo:** But, in reality, all it's accomplished is that I have blood on my hands now... I'm a sorry excuse for a brother.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Hey now, don't say that! You really did want to make her happy, right?

 **Shinguuji Korekiyo:** Right... it's the fault of the manipulator... I won't forgive her. Not for this. I'll catch her.

**Korekiyo is angry...! He's more determined to catch the despairs, but...?**

* * *

**Angie Yonaga:** Oh, Kokichi~! You wanted to ask? 

**Ouma Kokichi:** Atua told you?

 **Angie Yonaga:** Angie just noticed that you and Kaede were checking on the people who walked into the dining room.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Aww, I thought I was beginning to understand the inner workings of Atua's actions...

 **Angie Yonaga:** Angie will let you believe you caught a glimpse of Atua's mysterious motivations for a moment.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Thank you.

 **Angie Yonaga:** Well, Angie knows that a disaster can become the grounds for growth... that must be Atua's will. We might be fallen and damaged, but it's a crack on the step to hope.

 **Ouma Kokichi:**...hm? You're only worried about our side?

 **Angie Yonaga:** Is Angie supposed to be worried about the despairs?

 **Ouma Kokichi:** I mean, weren't they brainwashed...? By the helmets and the nurse's drugs... she tried to get Miu-chan to be one of them too.

 **Angie Yonaga:** Angie has already seen one home destroyed. Even if the helmets were brainwashing them...! How could she... how could I see an army descend upon my home and think, _'what poor innocent people'_...?!

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Angie-chan...

 **Angie Yonaga:** It doesn't matter why they're attacking. Their tragic circumstances don't matter. They're attacking and hurting people.

 **Angie Yonaga:** I know you hate killing, but having that sort of mindset... thinking you can spare them or feeling bad for them, that will only become a weakness. 

**Angie Yonaga:** Your enemies won't have the same reservations about you. They won't show the same mercy, so you can't afford to show them any either. You can't even afford to be soft on your allies in this situation.

 **Ouma Kokichi:**...

 **Angie Yonaga:** My island has been avenged, the criminal is in custody, and Angie got to punch her, but... that won't bring anyone back. It just made Angie feel hollow after...

 **Angie Yonaga:** The only thing to do is keep fighting. No matter the cost we have to pay. All we can do is pray that those who were brainwashed can be free in death.

**Angie's been traumatized by the destruction of her island... she's suggesting having absolutely no mercy...**

* * *

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Ah, that's right, it's almost your birthday, Tenko-chan!

 **Chabashira Tenko:** Wow...! That's true! Tenko had completely forgotten!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** This is probably the worst birthday present ever, actually... 

**Chabashira Tenko:** No, it's fine! Because we had almost an entire year of not knowing or caring what date it was, just carrying on with our work like that... 

**Chabashira Tenko:** We... had skipped over a lot of birthdays and special days. 

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Tenko-san?

 **Chabashira Tenko:** Tenko had forgotten what it felt like to have a day to look forward to... it would be nice if Tenko could share her birthday with the others.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Maybe you can! Like a whole birthday mash-up!

 **Chabashira Tenko:** Yeah! That would be amazing!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Ahahaha...

 **Chabashira Tenko:** Ahahaha!

**And then Kaede and Tenko talk at the same time.**

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Okay I know I started the conversation but I completely forgot what we were talking about--

 **Chabashira Tenko:** Tenko is sorry she knows you had a question but she forgot what the question was so--

**Kokichi appears out of nowhere.**

**Ouma Kokichi:** We're checking to see if everyone's okay after the big fight.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Oh, thanks!

 **Ouma Kokichi:** No prob, Kaede.

**Kokichi disappears into nowhere.**

**Chabashira Tenko:** To be honest, Tenko's heart was pounding the whole time...! She was really nervous about everyone getting hurt, but, at the same time...

 **Chabashira Tenko:** Every time Owari beat me up, I was desperate and angry... wondering what I could do to become strong enough to protect people... I felt like a _failure_. I had given up on ever beating Owari, but I kept wondering what I could have done differently, if there was ever any way to stop her...

 **Chabashira Tenko:** So, as unorthodox or inappropriate as it is, Tenko's happy she could finally beat Owari. With the power of friendship, too! 

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Yeah!

 **Chabashira Tenko:** It's great that we could capture the despairs without any major losses on either side!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:**?!

**Tenko is happy she could beat Owari, but... she doesn't seem to realize how many people died... is it okay to tell her?**

* * *

**Ouma Kokichi:** Go-go, Gonta-chan!

 **Gokuhara Gonta:** Yes, Kokichi-kun?

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Hey, you doing alright? Any second thoughts on the world being worth saving?

 **Gokuhara Gonta:**...

 **Gokuhara Gonta:** Gonta did not think that improving the world would involve removing the bad people. Gonta thought it was... better than this. That we would only capture and subdue peacefully, and then we would help the ecosystems recover.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Ah, yeah, me too...

 **Gokuhara Gonta:** It's scary. Gonta does not want to kill. But it makes sense, in a terrible way... if the people making the world bad are gone, then you can have an easier time making the world better, and it will protect the good people.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** It's not about easy or hard. The world will always be full of trash. Whether you like it or not, they'll always be there, and sinking that low to get rid of them will just make you into one of them, right?

 **Gokuhara Gonta:** That is what Kokichi-kun believes. But Gonta is still thinking it through, so Gonta can only consider Kokichi-kun's words, not just accept them without a second thought.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Man... I'm glad you're thinking about it, but it's a bit scary how even you are thinking murder might be okay...

 **Gokuhara Gonta:** This situation isn't normal at all, Gonta thinks. So, even though Gonta doesn't want to, we might have to.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Let's just agree to disagree for now. How're you doing now that Tanaka's under lock and key?

 **Gokuhara Gonta:** Gonta is happy. It won't immediately undo the damage done to the world, but it is progress. 

**Ouma Kokichi:** 'kaaaay....

 **Gokuhara Gonta:** Thank you for checking up on Gonta. You are a true gentleman.

**Gonta's still thinking about whether or not murder is okay in this sort of situation. He'll only be more confused if the matter of forgiving the despairs is brought up now...**

* * *

**Kiibo:** Good morning!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Good morning, Kiibo-kun! How are you doing after that?

 **Kiibo:** I am quite proud of the fact that we have been able to defend the Future Foundation! 

**Kiibo:** Though, I'm a bit sad... the birds I fought were just doing as they were told... 

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Oh, that's right... you spent most of your time fighting the birds, not the people...

 **Kiibo:** Yes, but Miu-san was the one who kept Mioda from destroying the building. I couldn't keep her safe...

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Kiibo-kun?

 **Kiibo:** I am proud of our victory, but it's not enough. I want to be able to protect us all, and keep a friend from vanishing before my eyes...

 **Kiibo:** I failed in keeping Pekoyama from using me as a tool to kill people. And while I was able to keep another innocent robot from suffering that same fate for any longer, that doesn't erase my failures. I swore that I would protect people from now on and create hope. 

**Kiibo:** I cannot afford to fail once again.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Don't be too hard on yourself. We're all here to help you. You don't have to take this all on your own shoulders.

 **Kiibo:** Thank you. Your support means the world.

**Kiibo took the battle and Pekoyama's control as signs he needs to become stronger...**

* * *

**Ouma Kokichi:** Miko-chan~!

 **Yumeno Himiko:** The battle was mostly just tiring. It was over sooner than I expected, but it was still too long.

 **Yumeno Himiko:** And I'm a bit sad I couldn't have a fitting, dramatic confrontation with the woman who caused my master's death, but a dramatic resolution is less important than the fact that she's not going to hurt anyone anymore.

 **Yumeno Himiko:** That's all you wanted to ask, right?

 **Ouma Kokichi:**...yeah, but you _didn't even wait for me to ask it_.

 **Yumeno Himiko:** I threw myself off an airship. I deserve to be able to skip a few lines of dialogue.

**Himiko's mostly just tired, so she doesn't really care. It seems she's fine as long as Koizumi won't hurt anyone...**

* * *

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Maki-chan?

 **Harukawa Maki:** Make it quick. I'm going to start morning training soon.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Huh? Did you have morning training before?

 **Harukawa Maki:** No. I'm just never going to let Mioda escape again.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Oh... you're angry about it.

 **Harukawa Maki:** It's not like I'm angry because I have a grudge or something.

 **Harukawa Maki:** I'm angry because she's hurt children. I'm angry because she threatened the Future Foundation. I'm angry because she's put all of you at risk.

 **Harukawa Maki:** Even I'm disgusted by senseless murder. Deaths for the sake of causing deaths, despair for the sake of causing despair... that's just needless sadism. 

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Yeah, that makes sense...

 **Harukawa Maki:** And besides. She's one of the most dangerous in the group. You can dodge drugs and outwit an army, but as long as you can hear, her music is dangerous. 

**Akamatsu Kaede:** We'll have to be careful when capturing her. 

**Harukawa Maki:** Right.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Don't worry. It'll be alright. We're all with you.

 **Harukawa Maki:** You don't have to state the obvious.

**Maki is going to work hard to capture the despairs, but she knows that the rest of the class will be supporting her.**

* * *

**Hoshi Ryoma:** Mornin'.

 **Ouma Kokichi:**...hey. You okay?

 **Hoshi Ryoma:** I'll manage. Just a bit tired.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** 'kay.

 **Hoshi Ryoma:** You're checking on everyone with Kaede, right?

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Yeah. How're you?

 **Hoshi Ryoma:** Not my first time killing. But the guy who hurt my family and girl, he's finally behind bars. 

**Hoshi Ryoma:** Won't wash the blood off my hands, but we can at least celebrate capturing more despairs.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** How amazingly optimistic. Didn't expect that from you of all people, Ryoma-chan!

 **Hoshi Ryoma:** I know what it's like to question your own worth and hate yourself for murder. I still know what it's like to wonder if you deserve to live.

 **Hoshi Ryoma:** But you guys were the one to pull me out of it, and you guys are the reason I'm still around. That's why I won't leave any of you alone either.

 **Ouma Kokichi:**...

 **Hoshi Ryoma:** You look like you've got something you need to say... but, even if you can't, I'll just be here.

**Kokichi couldn't bring up the matter of forgiving the despairs...**

* * *

**Momota Kaito:** Morning!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Good morning to you too!

 **Momota Kaito:** How're you doin' today?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Eh? Wait. I was going to ask you that.

 **Momota Kaito:** Hey, I know you're considered the leader, but that doesn't mean we can't be worried about you too, right? Let's swap stories.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Okay... well, how do you feel about the battle?

 **Momota Kaito:** It sucks that I wasn't there for most of it. I'm glad we could meet up with the reinforcements on the way, but we still fell for their trap... If we had gotten there sooner, could we have kept the despairs from escaping...?

 **Momota Kaito:** Well, who cares about what ifs! The only thing to do from now on is make sure we're together and not falling for any traps!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Sounds like a good plan!

 **Momota Kaito:** And you?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** I feel... weirdly disconnected from everything, you know?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** I was scared, but at first, I was acting like someone else... it was like I was watching myself on a stage, not actually there. Even when I was done acting, I couldn't think that I was actually in the scene. I was disorganized and unfocused...

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** It's really weird. Sometimes, I feel like I can't understand you guys like a real person. Like something's missing.

 **Momota Kaito:** Huh? Really?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** I mean, I've never been hurt by a despair like you guys have been. You're calling me the leader, but I can't understand what you're going through. What if my attempts to get through to Shirogane are just because I haven't been hurt personally like all of you? Can you really be okay if I say something like _'we can forgive her?'_

 **Momota Kaito:** Even if you don't have some additional trauma, you _were_ hurt by Shirogane. So I'm more inclined to trust you on that, but you _do_ just have this ability to make people good...

 **Momota Kaito:** But, if we started talking about the other despairs, well. It's not like I'm the only one hurt by Souda. Everyone suffers when the sky's been contaminated. Even if I manage to forgive him, he'd have to earn the forgiveness of each and every person who's been hurt. That's what I think, at least.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Yeah... thank you, Kaito-kun. 

**Kaede and Kaito came to an understanding.**

**Kaito wants to make sure he never falls for a despair's trap ever again. He seems open to the idea of forgiving a despair, but he's just one of many...**

**Kaede can't understand the conflict everyone's going through, having to debate between forgiveness and condemnation. She feels completely disconnected from her actions...**

* * *

**Shuuichi's still asleep, so skip to the interns' brief reactions.**

**Fukawa Toko:** I'm glad I'm a Future Foundation member now.

 **Asahina Yuuta:** My sister was proud of me for protecting the Future Foundation. It kinda felt like she was congratulating me for a track meet again.

 **Naegi Komaru:** My brother yelled at me for getting the airship to crash into the water, then hugged me and said he was glad I was okay. 

**And the kids, since Miu has to go for a check-up with Kimura.**

**Daimon Masaru:** That. Was. Awesome.

 **Utsugi Kotoko:** We were helpful! We were helpful, right?! Praise me!

 **Kemuri Jataro:** We managed to beat up a dragon...

 **Shingetsu Nagisa:** I'm glad we could contribute...

 **Towa Monaka:** We protected our home and family! Be proud of us!

 **Ouma Kokichi:** You're all good kids.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Thank you for your hard work. I'm happy you're here!

 **Utsugi Kotoko:** Yay!!!!!

 **Towa Monaka:** Monaka loves you!

 **Kemuri Jataro:** Thank you...!

 **Daimon Masaru:** Woo!!

 **Shingetsu Nagisa:** Um... you... can stop patting me now... It's embarrassing...

* * *

**Saihara Shuuichi:** Sorry for passing out earlier. I didn't realize how bad a state I was in.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** As long as you sleep better from now on, Shuu-chan!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:**...............................

 **Ouma Kokichi:** So, how are you doing? Any guilt from killing people, thoughts on capturing Nidai?

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** Yeah. Guilt is probably why I was having trouble sleeping. I really never want to do that again.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Oh thank god.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Kokichi?

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Nothing, nothing, anyways, just rest up! You're one of the pillars of our group, so you can't fall!

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** I'm guessing this is your overly-exaggerated way of telling me to take care of myself?

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Pretty much, yeah.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** You've learned to tell!

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** I didn't think it was possible, but it was, I suppose.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** And... anything about Nidai?

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** It's not like Nidai ever did anything to _me_ , really... I just felt responsible for stopping the crimes, because I was a detective. But each time, the evidence didn't match up right, and another case would happen while I was investigating the last one, until I started to think it was hopeless...

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** Now that he's been captured, the overall crime rate should go down.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** What sort of crimes were they, anyways?

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** Assaults, thefts, cases of cannibalism, vandalizing graves, locked room murders, and one case of interrupting a different cult's ritual sacrifice to--

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Oh jeez. Oh man.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** There. There were multiple cults involved here?

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** Three.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Wait, three...? Three? What did the third cult even-

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** You... can talk about that without me, actually.

**Kaede leaves to check on Miu.**

**Shuuichi's going to try to take better care of himself. He's guilty about killing people, but he wasn't personally affected by Nidai and he's a bit more confident and relieved now that Nidai's in custody.**

**Iruma Miu:** Yo, Kaede!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** You okay? What are the results?

 **Iruma Miu:** All they did was take a bunch of stuff like my heartrate, then they took some of my blood. Urgh...

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** No results yet?

 **Iruma Miu:** Nope.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Well, I hope they can find out soon... It was scary to think you might become one of the despairs.

 **Iruma Miu:** As if I would! I'm not abandoning the first friends I ever had for some drugs!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Yeah...

 **Iruma Miu:** And, well... it did feel good at first. But then I saw someone on a rooftop... it was Kamukura.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** What?!

 **Iruma Miu:** He was watching...! He was watching just like he was when I kept trying to save the city... I would look up from an invention to see black hair on another rooftop, I'd close the curtains but still feel those red eyes...! I hated him!

 **Iruma Miu:** That hated let me remember that I wanted to capture them. Together with everyone. Every one of my friends...

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Miu-chan...!

 **Iruma Miu:** Don't cry on me! Gross! You sappy nerd!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** I'm so glad you're still with us...! It would have been terrible to have to fight you!

 **Iruma Miu:** Yeah, yeah... don't worry. I'm never turning over to them. I'm never going to fall into despair, just you watch.

**Miu makes that sort of promise confidently.**

**She might hate Kamukura, but... did he ever actually do anything to her but watch?**

* * *

**Shirogane Tsumugi:** Hmm, hmm, hmm~

**Tsumugi sews her work calmly.**

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Do... you have an answer?

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Can you even hear us?

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** Oh, I hear you. I just don't care about the despairs anymore. 

**Shirogane Tsumugi:** You remembered me, my name, and came to see me... so I don't need them at all. 

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Do you want to meet with the Future Foundation's therapist or something? Because with this sort of mindset, I just can't help but worry about you, you know...?

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** Can't. Not allowed to.

 **Ouma Kokichi:**...what?

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** I was called to an office and told various things, but... 

**She looks up at a corner of the room...**

**Shirogane Tsumugi:** Even if I want to, this isn't a place I can. I'm very sorry.

 **Ouma Kokichi:**...what could they possibly be planning...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i noticed that ouma says kaedes name a lot more than she says his, which works because she just likes the sound of her boyfriend saying her name i guess


	28. Chapter 28

Their new home was the top floor of a recently-repaired apartment complex near the Future Foundation.

An elevator brought them to a common area with comfortable chairs and a television in the centre of the room. Doors around the area were labelled with signs, marking a kitchen, dining room, washroom, and individual rooms. The kids all had their separate rooms now, but...

"I'm worried," Kaede said, staring at the piece of paper attached to the door.

 _'Akamatsu + Ouma,'_ the same handwriting as everyone else's signs said, but in smaller script just below, it read, **_'don't worry! the walls are soundproof!'_**

 _'Don't be vulgar, Hagakure!'_ a messier handwriting reprimanded.

_**'TRUST ME THEY WILL APPRECIATE IT'** _

_'I'm so sorry for him he's a pig.'_

**_'YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT I KNOW'_ **

'Please ignore this,' writing Kaede identified as her old boss's read. 'Please.'

Kokichi looked at the paper with a blank expression.

"How bad can it be, Kaede?" he asked, ripping the paper off the door as he pushed it open. Kaede sighed as she walked in after him, closing the door behind them.

"Oh my god," Kokichi found himself saying at the sight.

They had a double bed now, one the Future Foundation must have gotten from some sleazy love hotel. That was the only possible explanation for why it looked like something out of a theme park. Seriously what. Also, what was with the heart-shaped lights and such. Seriously what.

On top of the bed was a box, and Kaede instantly had to open it.

"...please don't tell me it's--"

"It's condoms, pills, and guides on planning a pregnancy," Kaede told him.

"God _dammit_ Kaede!" Kokichi exclaimed, covering his face with his hands.

"I just want to tell you," Kaede started off, glaring at her blushing boyfriend, "this is entirely your fault. This is entirely your fucking fault."

She pulled out a letter in Kyouko's handwriting. Actually, it was just one sentence long, so it was more of a sticky note than anything.

_'Don't sneak off in vans anymore.'_

"Did you have a better explanation?!" Kokichi demanded.

"We could have just said we were on a recon mission but we couldn't afford to have despairs possibly listen! That would have explained everything and not led to _this!_ " Kaede screamed back, shoving the box at him.

"Oh come on, you couldn't have come up with that earlier?!" Kokichi shot back, resisting her attempts to shove the box into his hands.

"You're the better liar out of the two of us! I thought you thought things through!"

"I thought it would just lead to awkward jokes from the gang, not _this!_ "

"Accept responsibility for your actions!"

"Sometimes abdicating responsibility is the best thing to do!"

"What kind of attitude is that?!"

"I'm not going to tell everyone in the Future Foundation that we snuck off to have a discussion about their internal conflicts!"

Their squabble and back-and-forth led to the box spilling to the floor, its contents falling all over...

"Huh?"

Amongst all the other things, there was a strange shine... Kokichi knelt down to pick up a DVD case.

"Oh for the love of-- was there really no better way to sneak this to us," Kokichi said flatly.

"...did they really just send us a baby care package for this?" Kaede asked.

"Ask Kirigiri-chan, I guess!" Kokichi declared, shrugging.

"Seriously... who did we piss off to deserve this," Kaede grumbled. 

"Ask Kirigiri-chan."

"I kind of want to ask if that's your new answer to everything, but then you would just say it again."

"You know me so well."

"Kind of hard not to, at this point."

Kokichi laughed, and Kaede started laughing with him.

"This is so ridiculous," Kaede stated. "Do you just attract antics or something?"

"Hey, how dare you imply that I am not creating these antics."

"So you admit that this is your fault," Kaede said bluntly.

"How sly!" Kokichi exclaimed with a laugh.

"You're ridiculous. I love you, but you're completely ridiculous in every possible way."

"I will take that as a compliment," Kokichi replied.

They were very ridiculous and affectionate together despite the mysterious DVD they got, which was probably not the best mood to have when they left their room together and told everyone that they would be watching a mysterious DVD together in the common room.

* * *

"And remember, even if we can't force you to watch, there's a chance we could learn something interesting from this and you wouldn't know, so choose at your own risk!" Kokichi concluded.

"...deja vu..." Shuuichi mumbled.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> help the oumasai is getting closer and closer  
> i might die...

_"The Neo World Program was built by me, Fujisaki-san, and Matsuda-san in order to provide a safe environment to explore and address traumas,"_ a robotic voice narrated, the screen showing cartoonish pictures of a sad person on a beach.

* * *

"Neo World Program...?" Kokichi voiced aloud.

* * *

_"One of the key features of this program is the Logic Dive."_ The picture changed to a person staring down a long, winding tunnel. _"It creates a visualisation of the subject's thought processes towards a certain conclusion, allowing therapists to see exactly what thoughts led to certain behaviours and beliefs. Combined with the Neo World Program's ability to view the memories of the subject, it can show what events had to happen to turn them into what they are now."_

_"The only one who thinks you need to know is Naegi-san... our leaders don't know of this, and Kirigiri-san vetoed any attempts to inform you, but... you deserve to know. What exactly your efforts are leading to. This is my one and only chance to tell you, so I rushed it... I'm sorry I can't include everything."_

* * *

_"You've been raised and molded into a tool for killing, but now there's no one left to use you... how about you join my cause, instead? You can learn what it's like to be a normal person, you can experience love, happiness, even despair! What do you say, Pekoyama Peko?"_

* * *

Maki and Kiibo froze at the words from the TV, the screen showing Enoshima Junko looking down on a camera, no... a person laying on the ground in the rain...

* * *

_"I'm so sorry for your loss, Koizumi-chan... but crying doesn't suit you. I know that, if your best friend were still alive, she would want you to smile and spread smiles around the world! This despair can lead to happiness, I promise!"_

* * *

Himiko pressed her hands over her mouth at those words. 

* * *

_"Your sister is dead. You got your revenge on the killer, but are you happy? Do you think she's happy up there? Happy watching her brother cry...? What would she say...?"_

_"She would... tell me to stop being so weak."_

_"Then that's what you have to do, right? Become someone strong enough to subjugate the world, bring them under the Kuzuryuu banner, ... I'll be cheering you on the entire way."_

* * *

Korekiyo gritted his teeth as Ryoma mouthed the word _'revenge.'_

* * *

_"You are the princess of a people who need you. They need you to be strong, Nevermind! They need you to put aside your feelings, your entire being for their sake...! You've been told to be strong and selfless every day... don't you just want to switch with someone else? Become a normal girl for just one normal day?"_

Enoshima grinned.

_"I've got a great makeup artist, so I'm sure I can fill in for you."_

Nevermind's memories skipped over a day, showing her setting up a webcam to check with Enoshima in her country.

Enoshima greeted her by showing her the corpses on the floor. The king and queen...

 _"What did you do?!"_ Nevermind demanded. _"What have you done...!?"_

_"Now you don't have to be a princess anymore. Aren't you happy?"_

_"You killed them... my parents...! My people, are they—"_

Enoshima pointed the camera to the window, showing masked guards slaughtering civilians.

_"This is what you wanted, isn't it?"_

_"No...! No! This isn't what I wanted! Stop it! Please, stop!"_

_"It's too late. There are only a handful of people left, you know?"_

_"I don't care...! Let me have what's left of Novoselic...! Give me back my throne! Give me back my home! I'll never be so weak again... I'll never be so selfish, so please...!"_

_"There's just one condition, you know?"_

_"Anything! I'll do anything!"_

Enoshima laughed.

_"A leader who will do anything for her people... how noble."_

* * *

Kirumi went pale, as Angie began to hyperventilate.

Rantarou grabbed the tissues, as Owari's memories started to play.

* * *

_"Were you studying well?"_ Enoshima asked, adjusting her glasses.

 _"Yeah... I did my best to read the philosophers you recommended, even if I am dumb,"_ Owari answered. _"Sorry to make you have to tutor your senpai like this..."_

_"No, it's fine. Everyone has weaknesses, right? As long as you get the idea."_

_"Yeah. But, they're all so depressing! Why would life be meaningless?! Why do they all say humans are monsters?!"_

_"Can you really refute the smartest minds in philosophy?"_ Enoshima shot back. _"If you can't have faith in your own thinking, then at least trust the people who are good at this."_

_"You're right..."_

_"So, what's up? You seem worked up about this for some reason."_

_"I just... I was wondering, if they're right about how bad the world is... is it really okay to let my little siblings grow up in this_ _world?"_

_"What would the alternatives be? You either fight against human nature to make a better world, keep them from ever growing up, or what?"_

Owari hesitated.

_"You can't protect them forever, you know. The only way I can be sure of to keep them from being hurt is..."_

Enoshima trailed off, before waving it away.

_"It's not important. Let's keep studying, Owari-senpai."_

* * *

Kokichi watched Rantarou's expression carefully, then glanced at the worried Gonta...

* * *

_"You've been hurt again,"_ Souda said, looking at a sobbing Tsumiki on the floor.

_"It's o-okay... as long as people pay attention to me...!"_

_"It's not okay! It's not fair! How is it that, in this world, good people like you and me just suffer at the hands of others?! Who decided this?! Why can't this world just be filled of good people?!"_

_"Souda-san, you, you've been talking to Enoshima-san a-again, weren't you...?"_

_"Because she's right, Tsumiki! She's right that this world isn't fair. It's controlled by inhuman assholes who just like shoving everyone else down! They're a bunch of bullies and jerks...!"_

_"Souda-san! You're scaring me—!"_

_"Come on! You know you deserve better than to be used as a punching bag! You want people to love and accept you, but instead, all we can hope for is to be useful...! The ends justify the means, right?! If we can just erase the bastards of this world... then we can all be happy! Then no one will ever have to suffer like we have, ever again!"_

Tsumiki's eyes widened at his words.

_"No child will have to be scared of their parents, no kid will have to hate going to school, no parents will ever run out on you, everything will be so much better!"_

Souda offered Tsumiki a hand up.

_"You're a nurse. Don't you want to help people?"_

Tsumiki visibly gulped before taking his hand.

* * *

"What the hell...!? How does that justify ruining the sky?!" Kaito demanded.

"...kill the bad... to save the good..." Gonta repeated.

"That woman... she's just like..." Kaede trailed off.

"Isn't that the same lie she fed us...?" Masaru asked.

Kokichi was deep in thought...

_'There's no way these choices were unintentional. The therapist says she's just trying to inform us, but... showing us memories so close to our own experiences is bound to affect our own judgement.'_

In his head, he ticked off the names.

_'Pekoyama, trained to kill like Maki-chan, used like a tool like Kiibo-chan, Koizumi wanted to spread smiles like Miko-chan, Kuzuryuu's got revenge like Ryoma-chan, his sister died and was used to manipulate him like Kiyo-chan... Nevermind lost her home like Angie-chan and felt the weight of being a leader like Rumi-chan, Owari was too trusting and wanted to protect her siblings, Souda wanted to improve the world, even at the cost of lives...'_

The screen switched back to the cartoons, Gekkogahara explaining the plan to redeem the despairs using the methods of erasing and manipulating memories that had been used on them in the virtual killing game...

 _'No Komaeda, Nidai, Hanamura, Tanaka, or Imposter...?'_ he thought it over some more, then realized it was deliberate once again. _'Ran-chan already showed signs of being willing to understand, while Rumi-chan outright said she would never. Shuu-chan admitted that Nidai didn't hurt him personally, Gonta-chan's already been thrown off-balance by Owari and Souda, and the only person who could understand the imposter is Shirogane...'_

 _'Was that what she was in that office for? To teach them the methods of **manipulating memories** she found out from the killing game repetitions?' _Kokichi wondered.

"They want us to agree to redeem terrorists?!" Tenko demanded angrily.

"But, they were hurt, just like us..." Korekiyo muttered.

" _'If things were different, we could be the despairs while they're the hopes,'_ " Rantarou recited, remembering Tsumugi's words.

"What ifs don't matter when this is the reality!" Kaito declared.

"They've hurt and killed so many people," Kirumi stated. "Are we really considering forgiving them?!"

"We're trying to improve the world, right?" Miu asked. "Won't making them good contribute to that?"

"Don't be so naive," Maki retorted. "You don't just turn back on crimes of that magnitude."

"If that's the case, then what about me? I was used to kill people, just like them!" Kiibo exclaimed.

"You're a literal robot!" Angie shot back. "You can be controlled with no choice in the matter, but they chose this!"

"I've killed for revenge. Korekiyo's a serial killer," Ryoma stated. "Is that really so different? Can you say I deserve forgiveness and then deny them the chance?"

"No, that's not the same! That's not the same at all!" Himiko screamed.

"Gonta doesn't understand...!"

"Guys...!" Shuuichi called out, trying to help the shivering kids calm down. He made eye contact with Kaede, who nodded.

 _ **"That's enough!** "_ Kaede yelled, cutting through the chaos in the common room. "We won't get anywhere squabbling like this. Please, just calm down! I know it's upsetting, but fighting won't help at all!"

Monaka began to cry. That opened the way for the rest of the Warriors of Hope to cry out.

"I'm a despair, aren't I?! I chose Enoshima just like them! Do you all hate me now?!"

"We were tricked too...!" Kotoko exclaimed.

"We were willing to kill the same way," Nagisa added.

"I'm sorry..." Jataro muttered.

"Do you hate us?" Masaru asked desperately, and everyone realized just how badly their argument hurt the kids...

"No, no, we don't," Kirumi promised. "It's okay."

"We stopped you, right?" Kaito grinned comfortingly. "You're alright."

"You're kids," Maki said. "You're easily manipulated by adults who should know better."

"You aren't our enemy," Angie stated.

"I'm sorry for yelling," Tenko said. "Tenko didn't mean to scare you."

"We need to fight the bad people so the good people can win, remember?" Himiko asked. "You're fighting for good, so you're heroes."

"And besides, you're all missing the point," Kokichi stated bluntly from his spot on top of the back of the sofa, making everyone pause.

"I mean, she said the reason for the DVD wasn't for us to decide whether it was right or wrong," _'leaving out the part where the information she presented was heavily stacked for us to make that choice,'_ "but for us to know the circumstances behind everything, right? This is something Naegi-chan's team is hiding from the higher ups. AKA, _they're_ the one doing this, not us."

He tilted his head cutely, grinning.

"We're just the pawns in the game of chess between the Future Foundation's redemption team and execution team. No one expects us to make a decision, but one kind soul decided to tell us everything."

_'The reason why, though...'_

"There's no reason we have to come together as a group to decide it," Kokichi concluded. "All that matters is that we know the truth."

The room went silent as they considered his words...

"Though, it wouldn't be good to have this sort of tension between us, especially since we have to trust each other with our lives," Kaede added. "So, how about this? A calm discussion about your thoughts. No need to convince anyone. Is that okay?"

The others mulled over her suggestion.

"Sure, why not?" Rantarou asked. "I'll get the pillows."

"Tenko will grab the snacks."

"Is that really the best mood for... whatever this is?" Shuuichi asked.

"What could be more calming?" Kokichi replied, as Kirumi went to fetch a nail polish kit she got as a gift from her old superior.

"No, no matter how you think of it, this is more of a slumber party," Shuuichi said.

"Monaka never got to have a slumber party before! And we can all be better friends after talking together!" 

With that sort of exclamation, the preparations for a makeshift slumber party/heart-to-heart began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also im working on relationship charts in this fic lol yay. heres kaedes and oumas
> 
>   
> 


	30. Chapter 30

this is an oumasai fic now. they killed me. im sorry.


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT WAS A LIE

The group gathered around the common room in their pyjamas, having accepted that discussing sensitive information with a slumber party was something they were just going to do now.

"I don't understand what they could be thinking," Kirumi said bluntly. "How could they possibly get away with violating the orders of the Future Foundation head himself? Not only that, but the deception involved..."

Kotoko pulled Kirumi's hand into her lap, sneakily pulling the glove off of the maid's hand. Rantarou had a grin on his face from next to them, holding a pack of nail polish ready.

"It must be out of that desire for hope," Kaede replied, patting Kokichi's hair as he laid his head in her lap. "I mean, Naegi Makoto was always so firm in that belief and--"

Her voice was cut off by Kokichi suddenly sitting up and wrapping his arms and legs around her tightly. From their position, she couldn't see the pout on his face at all... She just patted his back in response.

"Angie wonders... is that naive? Or noble?" Angie asked no one at all, hugging a pillow.

"No less noble than forgiving Korekiyo, right?" Ryoma replied, sharing his candies with Masaru.

"Don't eat too many before bed," Miu ordered, causing Masaru to whine. "You'll get sick!"

"I don't think I've been forgiven, actually," Korekiyo noted.

"Yeah, it might have something to do with you _almost stabbing me_ ," Rantarou retorted, passing Kotoko a bright pink nail polish. Kirumi had clearly noticed by now, but she was fine with it, if only because Kotoko had chosen her unscarred hand.

"You what?!" Kaede demanded.

"Korekiyo thought all hope was lost and tried to stab Rantarou," Angie summarized. 

"Okay, okay, please don't stab people. Seriously, please do not do that," Shuuichi requested, shuffling a bit further from Korekiyo. He wound up sitting closer to Himiko and Gonta, the redhead already on the verge of falling asleep on top of Gonta.

"No worries, Angie promised to kill him first."

"No, that's even more worrying," Kaede interjected. "We actually need to address this. Please."

"Can't you just say that no one kills anyone?" Nagisa offered. "That seems like the simple solution."

"Good answer, sidekick!" Kaito declared, ruffling Nagisa's hair. "You did good!"

"Here's a gold star," Maki said, sticking the sticker to Nagisa's shirt.

Nagisa spontaneously combusted, so Gonta spoke up.

"Why would you want to kill people, Korekiyo-kun?"

"It's better to die a peaceful death than whatever the despairs have planned... that's what I thought," he explained.

"Past tense?" Jataro asked.

"Past tense," Korekiyo confirmed. "Clearly, all of you are too insane to die when all logic dictates that you should." 

"So, Angie never has to worry about you.... slitty slitty?" Angie asked.

"If that is an euphemism for murder, then yes. I doubt any of you would die even when you're shot at this point."

"Thank god," Rantarou said, letting out a sigh as he helped Kotoko paint little hearts onto Kirumi's nails.

"I'm glad for that," Kaede said with a relieved sigh.

"I feel like Ryoma-chan has a point," Kokichi said suddenly, pressing his ear to the crook of Kaede's neck. "How do we trust that? What makes Kiyo-chan different from a despair?"

"Isn't it because we've all suffered together in that game?" Kiibo suggested. "We feel that he's one of us."

"So, the reason is because we like him? And the reason we can't do the same for the despairs is because we don't like them?" Kokichi asked. "Because Kiyo-chan only killed people we don't know or care about, but the despairs killed people we love..."

"This is so complicated..." Himiko grumbled. "It's so frustrating."

"Yeah, I guess so..." Kaede mumbled.

"Please, feel free to fall asleep," Gonta offered. "It's alright."

"No. It's important to everyone, so... I gotta stay up..."

"Saying that while closing your eyes isn't convincing," Shuuichi pointed out.

"I thought you guys agreed just to not say anything," Monaka huffed. "It's not your problem, right? If you fight, Monaka'll get mad."

"It's pretty hard not to say anything and just let it not affect us," Maki said. "It _does_ affect us, because they hurt us..."

"Then, why not this?" Angie spoke up. "We extend the Korekiyo treatment to them, too. A chance for forgiveness, but be wary about it. And if they betray our kind attempt..."

"I'll do my best not to betray your trust," Korekiyo promised.

"Yeah, that makes sense," Kaede said.

"I feel like that's pretty much all you've been saying tonight," Rantarou noted. "You know, agreeing and such."

"Well, I haven't been personally hurt like everyone here, so I can't really have the same problems forgiving them," Kaede explained. "So, I wanted to at least understand where you're coming from..."

"Thinking it over carefully!" Gonta exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah, is it settled now?" Kokichi asked. "Like, no objections to anything?"

Kirumi hummed.

"I wonder... if they'll take their chance at redemption," she said, keeping Kotoko from removing her other glove. 

"And even if we forgive 'em, there's so many other people they hurt," Miu noted. "Would they ever be able to be trusted by more than a handful of people?"

"Plus, this ain't the kind of thing a trip to therapyland and an apology'll fix," Kaito stated.

"That's their problem," Monaka said bluntly. "I just want you to not fight over it."

With their concerns dismissed like that, the others managed to keep going on their slumber party.

"Ab-so-lu-te-ly not!" Monaka screamed, glaring at Shuuichi. "No! Work! For! You!"

"Come on! We're going to see who can do more pushups!" Kaito exclaimed, dragging Shuuichi towards the centre of the room.

"Go ahead~!" Kokichi cheered. "Do your best!"

"You're joining us," Kaito stated.

"Name one reason why I should," Kokichi said bluntly.

"Carrying Kaede down the aisle," Kaito answered in the same tone.

"Oh my god are you serious?" Kaede demanded. "There's no way that would work-"

"Ah, he already joined in," Rantarou noted blandly.

The competition was between Masaru, Kokichi, Kaito, Shuuichi, and Tenko, because Kotoko was trying to braid Gonta's hair since Kirumi wasn't cooperating anymore, Jataro was playing with Ryoma's hat, Maki was reading Nagisa a complicated novel, and Monaka just wanted Kaede to pay attention to her.

"One, two--!"

"How come you don't want us to take off that one glove?" Rantarou asked Kirumi.

"...it's a rather long story, but in short, my hand has been scarred. It's not a pretty sight."

"I'm gonna die...!" Kokichi whined.

"We literally just started!" Kaito shot back.

"Big Bro Kiibo's got scales like me, but Big Bro Ryoma's hat is like cat ears," Jataro said.

"Cat ears, huh? That's new," Ryoma replied.

Kiibo let out a snicker at the thought, only to be silenced by Ryoma shoving a lollipop into his mouth.

"Ah. Wait. I forgot if you can..." Ryoma froze at Kiibo's panicked expression. "Kiibo? Oh no."

"Hold on! I'll help you!" Miu declared, rushing over.

"The fairy extravagantly pranced over," Maki read, loudly ignoring the others. Nagisa appreciated that very much.

"Big Bro Kokichi, don't give up!" Masaru screamed. "You have to keep going!"

"No... my arms... they were meant for greater things than this...!"

"If you don't keep going, you'll be the first to drop out!" Shuuichi exclaimed. "Can you really live with being the guy who lost in an exercise competition to me of all people?!"

"Don't say it like that, Shuuichi! You've been training with me, so you're a lot more badass now!" Kaito declared.

"And you're Tenko's student, too, so you might actually be more fit than expected!" 

"Wow, you guys are mean," Kokichi said.

"Look!" Kotoko ordered. "You're _so_ adorable!"

Gonta smiled as she made him and Korekiyo sit side-by-side, a comparison of their braids.

"Nice!" Angie exclaimed. "They're works of art!"

"Looking good," Himiko said.

"Monaka always wanted a big sister like this," Monaka mumbled into Kaede's shoulder.

"Then I'm glad we met," Kaede replied, patting Monaka's head.

And then she looked at the pushup competition in horror. "What are you people doing. Why?"

"It's our symbol of unity!" Kaito exclaimed passionately. "We will get stronger together!"

Kaito did pushups with Tenko on her back, who had Shuuichi doing pushups on _her_ back, who had Kokichi doing pushups on _his_ back, who had Masaru doing pushups on top of the disastower.

"Hey babe!" Kokichi greeted her with a smile.

"You're ridiculous," Kaede said instantly, before turning her head to see something incredible.

"You're ashamed of this scar?" Rantarou asked, gingerly taking Kirumi's hand in his own. A scar from a knife wound was visible on the back of her hand...

"...it's a symbol of my mistakes," Kirumi replied. "It's a terrible, ugly scar..."

That was when Rantarou kissed the back of her hand.

"I think you're beautiful regardless," he said with a smile.

"Oh my god," Kaede said, gasping.

The disastower fell apart instantly, because Masaru recoiled at the _'urgh'_ factor and fell off, and then Kokichi had to try and shield him with his body, which only led to it falling apart faster.

"Congratulations, Ran-chan, you've ruined everything," Kokichi said flatly.

"I can handle literally anyone else telling me that, but why you of all people?" Rantarou asked. 

And that was when Kirumi exploded.

The slumber party was filled with all the antics you would expect of this group.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for reference  
>   
> each kid has their favourite v3 adults for various reasons so thats why the four kids up top and the one kid in with the other v3 adults  
> it goes:  
> \- monaka: kaede, kokichi, kiibo  
> \- jataro: korekiyo, angie, ryoma  
> \- masaru: tenko, miu, kaito  
> \- kotoko: gonta, rantarou, kirumi  
> \- nagisa: shuuichi, maki, himiko


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> 

"They're asleep?" Shuuichi asked.

"Yeah, the kids got to their beds alright," Maki replied.

"I'll be sure to clean this up," Kirumi said, looking around the messy room.

"Let's all do this together, then!" Kaede exclaimed.

Now, had it been a few months before, or maybe even a few days, Kirumi would have refused outright, saying that, as a maid, she could not allow such a thing.

Instead, her response was simple.

"Are you quite sure? I can do it myself."

"Yep, I mean, it's more fun together with everyone, right?" Kaede answered.

With that sort of answer, they tidied up the room together, then retreated to their own bedrooms.

Kaede sighed, still unused to the ridiculous bed and decor, before seeing the box spilled over on the floor.

She went to pick them up, Kokichi immediately going to help her.

"Thanks!" Kaede exclaimed with a smile.

Kokichi let out a huff, dropping the parenting books in the box roughly.

Kaede figured that was it, and all that remained were things like changing out of their Future Foundation uniforms and such before bed.

"I wonder... d'you think Naegi-chan had a hand in this?" Kokichi asked as Kaede went to hide the box in a corner. 

"Huh?" Kaede paused, turning back to see Kokichi just sitting crosslegged on the floor. "I dunno. Why?"

"It would mean that he recognizes our relationship, right?"

"Kokichi, he offered us a couple's quarters the first time we met," Kaede reminded him. " _Before_ we started dating. He gave me a recommendation for marriage rings. I think he recognized it before I did."

"Yeah, and that makes him _sooo_ amazing," Kokichi grumbled, pouting.

"Are you... mad about something?" Kaede asked, confused as she made her way over.

"Are you an idiot," Kokichi demanded flatly, glaring up at her with his arms crossed. Kaede paused a few steps in front of him, baffled.

"I'm not _psychic!"_ Kaede retorted. "If you don't say it, I won't understand!"

"Oh, I don't know," Kokichi said, getting up and stepping closer, "you really never thought about how it feels for your girlfriend to sing some other guy's praises?"

He grabbed her tie, tugging it carefully to bring her gaze towards his eyes.

"You don't get what it's like to wonder how you compare to some great hero who defeated despair, or even just to some other people in the group? Kokichi asked.

Kaede thought it over, before realizing it.

"You're jealous?"

Kokichi's pout just confirmed her guess.

"Not just about Naegi Makoto... but about how you compare to the other people in our group," Kaede noted.

"So what if I am?!" Kokichi whined. "I'm allowed to be scared of you being taken from me, aren't I?!"

 _'...ah... so he's scared of anything that could possibly separate us, no matter what it is...'_ Kaede thought.

"To be honest, I never even thought it was a possibility," Kaede admitted. "I mean, everyone else in our group accepts that we're a couple, so they wouldn't try it, and, well, even if Naegi Makoto tried it, the way I like him doesn't match up at all."

She patted Kokichi's head as she tried to figure out an explanation, his glare slowly ebbing away. Then she just suddenly blurted it out.

"I mean, he's like Jesus! You don't date Jesus!" Kaede exclaimed. "I don't like him like a boyfriend at all!"

"And you love me...?" Kokichi asked.

"In every way that matters," Kaede replied, not thinking her words through at all at this point. "You're the person I trust the most, you know? If anyone else shot Naegi Makoto in the back or drugged Shuuichi-kun or drove me off in a van alone, I would have probably freaked out, but there's never been a time where trusting you didn't work out for the best."

"U...uuh...?!" Kokichi began to turn pink.

"And you're incredible. You know? Incredible. You're really smart and charismatic and always a step ahead of everyone. But you're also always on our side. So you're kind, cute, smart, cunning, charming, and a whole bunch of other words. I could probably make a list if I had a dictionary, actually."

"K-Kaede...?!"

"And well, I can't see why I _wouldn't_ like you! I mean, so what if you're a liar? I can still trust you, and even if you have trouble with it sometimes, I know you trust me. I'd put my life in your hands without even thinking about it."

Kokichi couldn't even get a word in.

"I don't really need you to make big speeches about hope or become someone else," Kaede stated, "because the fact is, the person I fell for is you and no one else. You make me smile and laugh. That's all I want."

"That's enough!" Kokichi screamed, before yanking Kaede down by the tie and kissing her.

The kiss lasted for only a second before Kaede broke away, laughing.

 _"What?"_ Kokichi asked, still steamed.

"Oh, I just— I mean, I was so worried about you getting tired of me, and it turns out that you were worried about me choosing someone else... we're really good at being anxious about us, aren't we?" 

Kokichi sighed.

"Then the only choice is to take responsibility and stay with each other, isn't it?"

"Seems like it!" Kaede exclaimed with a grin. 

Kokichi let out a short laugh, then a soft smile he only showed to her.

"...hey, Kaede."

"Yeah?"

"I take it back. Your only choice is to kiss me."

That was the only warning Kaede got before...

...

* * *

"So, we've received a report that some of the despairs in captivity were carrying some sort of **communication device** ," Shuuichi told the others at the next day's strategy meeting. "I've already sent in a request for someone in communications to track the signals so we can locate the others, but there's no guarantee the escapees still have theirs."

"Wow, you're on top of the game! Good job!" Kokichi exclaimed, clapping. Monaka clapped with him instantly.

"Of course, it'll take some time too," Shuuichi added, voice quieting down with anxiety. "I mean, they were made by the SHSL Mechanic, so they haven't even seen some of the systems it uses before..."

"Pssh, you should've just told 'em to send them to me!" Miu declared. "This gorgeous girl genius would've cracked it in no time!"

"O-oh. Sorry..."

"No worries! It's all right!" Kaede declared. "Thank you for everything, Shuuichi-kun!" 

Shuuichi flushed under the thanks as the others chimed in that he had worked hard. Monaka clapped a bit faster.

This was when their doorbell sounded.

The group was confused...

"Didn't they tell us that we'd be informed in advance of any visits through our communicators...?" Rantarou asked.

"Meaning that, whoever's behind that door doesn't have one," Maki concluded.

Knocks against their door made the first part of the _'two shaves and a haircut'_ jingle...

And the last two beats were supplied by the blasts of a sonic guitar, blowing their front door off its hinges.

"Hehehehe! Ibuki got tired of waiting, so she found you instead!"


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact! i have the innate rule that everyone in any given work is bisexual until proven otherwise. the only exception to this rule was kirumi, whom i shipped with kaede, tenko, celes, himiko, sonia, peko, angie, and ibuki, until i noticed that i only shipped gay kirumi ships, at which point i realized that rantarou and kirumi had a good dynamic.
> 
> jokes on me, its still gay. i adopted rantarou. hes a lesbian now. a he/him lesbian.
> 
>   
>   
> 

Each strum of the guitar brought another painful chord, forcing the group to desperately try to cover their ears.

But, no one was more affected than Kaede... her sensitive hearing made the guitar's wailing even more unbearable...!

Mioda began to cackle.

"You seemed so strong when you were capturing my friends, but now, you're nothing!" the despair declared, before laughing. "Hey, Enoshima. I'll sing you a song. I'll carve it into your memory."

"No...!"

Mioda smiled innocently, before flipping a switch on her guitar...!

"I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, **_I HATE YOU!_** "

The song forced Kaede to her knees... 

"Each day, each hour, each second, I have hated you! I've hated you for what you've turned me and my friends into! When you died, I despaired at the thought that I couldn't be the one who killed you...! Each day, each hour, each second...! But now, you're back again!"

Maki began reaching for her knife, only for Mioda to kick over the assassin's chair.

With a completely blank expression, Mioda pulled out packs of explosives with one hand, the other strumming everyone into submission.

When the pile of bombs on the table began to overflow onto the floor, Mioda pulled out a switch with a single button.

"Move and you'll all explode into itty-bitty pieces."

Everyone watched with anxious eyes as Mioda grinned.

"Now... that was a little too easy, huh? Ibuki wonders... maybe she should just make one watch the others die..." 

Mioda ruminated as she tossed the switch from one hand to another, their fates resting on whether she could keep making that catch...

"Wait! You only want... me, right?" Kaede asked, forcing herself to her feet. "Because I'm Enoshima the second."

The musician's hand paused, keeping the switch in one hand.

"...and, if Ibuki says yes?" Mioda asked, tucking her switch back into her outfit.

"Then... only me. Just me. Take me," Kaede offered.

"No!" Kokichi screamed. 

"We will not watch you die again!" Kirumi declared.

Mioda grinned as she began playing her guitar once again, causing Kaede to cry out in pain.

"Ibuki wonders... Ibuki wonders... oh, how should she decide~! Take Enoshima from her friends, or friends from Enoshima? Which one, which one will let Ibuki cause even a fraction of the pain she suffered~?"

"Are... you an idiot...?" Kaede asked through gritted teeth, forcing the despair to focus on her and her alone. "You're so useless, you can't even decide something so simple?"

Mioda's eyes widened.

"You--! You, you, you, you, _you_ \--! The reason Ibuki's like this is _your_ fault! The reason only Enoshima can give Ibuki a purpose, the reason Ibuki is so hopeless, the reason, the reason, the **_reason--!_ "**

Filled with rage, Mioda struck Kaede upside the head with the body of her guitar.

_"Ah—!"_

Kaede fell to the floor, blood dripping down her skull...

"Kaede!" Kokichi wailed, instantly rushing to her side.

"Oops, seems like you moved!" Ibuki exclaimed excitedly, pulling the switch back out--

"No way in hell!" Maki threw a dagger, causing the despair to _scream_ as the blade carved through her hand, the switch falling through the air...!

Monaka broke into a run, jumping over a chair to grab the switch! She caught it safely...!

"Tch--!"

Even with a knife wound in her hand, Mioda continued to play...

"This isn't your fight! The only one I want to kill... to hurt, is her! Enoshima! Don't you believe in justice?!"

"She's not Enoshima!" Kiibo declared, having been trying to figure out how to deactivate his hearing this whole time and just managing it...! "Once you hurt one of us, you have to deal with the rest!"

Mioda flipped a toggle on her guitar, causing her instrument to spew flames.

"Then die together!"

Kiibo reacted instantly, using his fire-extinguishing functions to counteract the attack!

Seeing Maki, Gonta, and Kaito move, Mioda turned her guitar before Kiibo could react...!

She set the bombs on the table ablaze!

"Go to hell," Mioda cursed, before running, blasting a hole through their wall and jumping out!

The despair used the power of soundwaves to create just enough force to soften her fall...

Kiibo hurriedly extinguished the bombs, but...! Some were still sparking, and they couldn't easily discern which ones...!

"Throw them out!" Miu ordered, using her goggles and robot arms to quickly pick out the bombs that were about to blow up...!

She threw them to Gonta, to Kaito, to Masaru, to Maki, to everyone, so they could toss them out the hole...

When they had tossed the entire pile, Kokichi took charge!

"Kiyo! Call for medics, call for reinforcements right away! Rumi, glider for Miko, Miko, Kiibo, you need to survey the scene from above!" he ordered quickly. "Shuu, check your handbook's map to see where the hell she's going!"

They went to their work right away.

"Ran, first aid kit. Now!"

"On it."

"I'll chase after her!" Maki exclaimed.

"I'm with you! We won't fall into another trap!" Kaito declared.

 _"We're_ with you," Gonta corrected, as Tenko nodded.

"Wait!" Miu interrupted.

"Don't try to stop me," Maki ordered.

"I'm not going to stop you," Miu replied, taking out some headsets. "I'm helping you."

Maki's eyes widened.

"They cancel out all other noise but the ones from the other headsets."

"Take the motorcycles," Kokichi ordered. "Angie, Ryoma, back them up in the van! Search everywhere!"

He gritted his teeth as he held Kaede's unconscious body tightly, her blood staining his checkered scarf.

"We won't let her escape! Not after this!"

**Despair Mission: Mioda Ibuki START!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another fun fact: ibuki wasnt involved with the twilight syndrome murder case in this au, so she couldnt have been manipulated into despair with that...
> 
> also, theres a part two of this again  
> <https://rainbow-unicorn-banzai-party.tumblr.com/post/186743546705/rainbow-unicorn-banzai-party-this-is-their>


	34. Chapter 34

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: to the anon who sent me advice on how to deal with the oumasai! THANK YOU. but also now they're showing me jojo v3 videos and im scared

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so i just feel like i need to share just how insane the entire oumasai youtube journey is because the story KEEPS GOING
> 
> like. im on youtube, there's music playing while i write. i manage to set it up so youtube is just giving me dr song after dr song. like, drae ending theme, komaeda song, execution themes, etc. its all good. i get from dr songs in general to v3 fansongs, but hey, cause i'm a liar is a good jam and it works for the fic, so what's the problem?
> 
> i check on youtube to skip an ad. i notice a v3 animatic. it's oumasai, set to love trial. i think it's funny, since i don't ship it. like, i don't even know their canon dynamic? i never played v3. rantarou's talent? it's probably not shsl lesbian but that's what it is in my heart. but what isn't in my heart is oumasai, because even if the art is good, i am incapable of shipping popular ships. i completely failed to ship komahina even when i wanted to. there is no way this animatic can make me like oumasai, because i gravitate exclusively towards rarepairs, with some of the worst cases involving me being the entire tag on ao3. i know this about myself, and now you know this about myself.
> 
> you know who doesnt know this about myself? who doesnt get the hint? YOUTUBE.
> 
> because EVERYTIME I CHECK. THE SAME OUMASAI ANIMATIC IS THERE. it's never in the slot where autoplay will play it immediately, but it's there. it's high up. it's staring me in the eye.
> 
> i decide to fuck away. i switch to dr mmd videos, because clearly an mmd video about dr1 characters is far enough removed to spare me from the animatic, because that was 2d and this is 3d and this is an entire level up. 
> 
> i hear a song i dont recognize. i check. the mmd videos have led me to a video of ouma and saihara dancing together. i don't understand. i wasn't even watching v3. i've been fooled. they've abused my inability to read japanese.
> 
> i get the genius idea to counteract the oumasai with oumaede. i am filled with fear and anger and desperation and i think everything will be okay if i watch seven hours of oumaede back to back. i am gambling my entire heart and soul and body and being and various other bits and pieces of myself on this vague hope that i have found a solution except i have not because THERE ISNT EVEN SEVEN MINUTES OF COMBINED OUMAEDE CONTENT AND I WAS BORN TO LIVE AND I LIVE TO SUFFER
> 
> i am filled with panic and despair. in my distraught state, the best option seems to be to give up. to let them win. so i watch the oumasai love trial animatic that started it all, sobbing the entire while. 
> 
> unfortunately, despite me giving them what they wanted in incognito mode, they decide it's not enough. the oumasai love trial animatic reappears. over and over and over again. i am wary of every song, not knowing which videos are safe and which videos are the same ghosts behind different masks. the oumasai is taunting me. they say i will never achieve my dreams, that all hope is lost in the oceans of oumasai. there is nothing but oumasai, and there never will be, they say. my heart is tormented. i lose myself to the oumasai. i despair and allow my story to be torn from my hands, twisted and turned and tarnished into something it was never meant to be. i lost a battle to myself and lost a part of my own soul in the process.
> 
> then, i see a light in my most desperate hour. it's a cover of cause i'm a liar. i grab at it with both hands and pray for salvation.
> 
> in my rush, i had not realized that it was a polish cover, nor did i notice that youtube had suddenly decided that i was into polish vocaloid covers. 
> 
> and that's how poland took over my youtube account. the russians, however, are another story entirely.

Shirogane Tsumugi sat behind a desk, hands tied behind her back and blindfolded. A laptop sat in front of her, a digital being asking her questions.

_'How did you avoid the subjects attempting to recall their lost memories?'_

"The thing I've learned that, is if you leave a gaping hole in their memories, they'll be bothered. They'll keep looking for whatever the reason behind their amnesia is... but, if you fill that hole with a lie, a fabrication... they will cling to it desperately. They will point blank try to deny any proof that their memories aren't what they remember."

Kirigiri Kyouko noted it down with a stoic face, not even reacting to the incessant vibrations of her communicator in her pocket.

* * *

The interns had been working on some spare paperwork, mostly just organizing the damages caused by the Despair Capture Movement, which put them in a crowded room when the call came.

"An attack at your headquarters? Someone's been injured?" Komaru repeated, just to make sure. "I'll call Kirigiri-san right away!"

She paused.

"What do you mean she's not answering? She's _never_ not answered...!"

"No worries, I'll send for a van to bring the victim to a nearby hospital," a passerby employee offered, grin on his face. "Where should I have them go?"

"Hey," Toko interjected, glaring. "You're violating protocol. We can't accept this from anyone but our direct superiors."

"But, it's a desperate situation..." Yuuta protested.

"The boy's right, you know? If you squander your chances now, the girl might actually die."

"...how do you know that the victim was a girl...?" Komaru asked.

The employee froze.

* * *

_"Be careful!"_ Toko hissed into her communicator. _"The despairs got to a member of the Future Foundation, saying that his daughter would die if Akamatsu Kaede wasn't in their possession."_

"Dammit...! Are they just targeting Kaede?!" Kokichi demanded in frustration.

_"As a matter of fact, yes. They want her to truly become Enoshima the Second!"_

"...oh god," Shuuichi muttered, looking around the room to see the others. Miu, Korekiyo, Rantarou, Kirumi, Kokichi, the kids, and the unconscious Kaede. "There's another despair in the area. And we've sent our best fighters looking for Mioda..."

"The fact that it's a hospital..." Korekiyo muttered.

"It's Tsumiki," Kokichi realized. "They wanted a way to bring Kaede into contact with the one with addictive mind-altering drugs." Miu shuddered. "This was a trap from the beginning."

"Kokichi-kun?" Kirumi called out uncertainly. "What... why are you... _smiling_?"

Well, in all honesty, his face couldn't quite be called a smile. It was more a twisted caricature of one, a mocking mimic made by a monster in a human's guise.

"I won't let her be hurt more than she already has," Kokichi declared. "I won't let them take her away. So, no matter what happens, we won't lose here!"

"Any ideas, then?" Miu asked.

"Is there anything we can do...?" Monaka asked, tears in her eyes as she looked at Kaede's unconscious body.

Kokichi paused, before grinning.

"Only if you're willing to trust me."

As Kirumi carefully treated Kaede's wounds, he picked up his communicator.

"Hey, Ryoma-chan, Angie-chan, we need a ride!"

* * *

"Shit..." Mioda cursed, ripping apart part of her shirt to wrap her hand up.

She couldn't expect Tsumiki to do it, not unless she had Enoshima. Tsumiki wouldn't even look at her if it weren't for that woman.

She had hidden in a ruined building, crouched on the dirty floor with the remains of the previous store owners having long rotted away... The smell was awful, and it was so dark and uncomfortable...

"You'd say it suits me, wouldn't you...?" Mioda asked the lonely air, thinking of that pianist's face.

 _'She's not Enoshima!'_ the robot's declaration hit her.

"I know that..." Mioda whispered to herself. "I know she's not the real thing..."

 _'It's the second coming of Enoshima Junko,'_ she remembered Komaeda saying. _'The second coming of the woman who changed our lives.'_

Mioda hissed under her breath as she pulled the makeshift bandage tight. Too tight. 

Tears stung her eyes as she struggled to get it off.

 _'You're so useless,'_ the pianist's voice told her, her face already mixing with Enoshima's in Mioda's mind.

"Shut up. Shut up, shut up, shut up...! You're already _dead!"_ Mioda muttered to herself. "You're dead, so why can't you get out of my head?! Out of all of my friends' heads?!"

But...

But...!

 _'Huuuuh, you think you're their friend?'_ the memory of Enoshima asked. _'Really, you're more of the butt of the joke. The annoying friend you keep around to laugh at. Oops, sorry, that was too mean.'_

_'I don't think you realize how annoying you are! Come on, shouldn't you have realized that something is wrong with the way you act when your band fell apart?!'_

_'Can anyone take you seriously at all? Think about it! I mean, you're impulsive, too energetic, too loud, too fidgety, too weird for anyone to think of you as more than a joke!'_

Mioda's breathing began to speed up.

She thought... for the longest time, that Enoshima was strange. Cruel. Rude.

But no one... no one else thought it... they all thought Enoshima was a friend...

Nanami was the only one who would have listened, but, but, when Mioda tried to tell her, all of Enoshima's words struck her...! 

She _was_ weird! She _was_ the reason her band fell apart, she _was_ the joke, the outcast, the, the, the, the...! 

Mioda remembered Nanami's face.

And began to wail.

She had people, but Enoshima's words made her paranoid. Mioda pushed away Koizumi, Tsumiki, Saionji, Nanami... right before the death of Satou. And it was her own fault.

She had became painfully aware of the wall separating herself from the others in the class... but she couldn't surmount it at all... before she knew it, the moodmaker of the class... wasn't even from their class.

Enoshima had replaced her. The class' acceptance... hinged on Mioda doing as Enoshima pleased...

At first, Mioda was unwilling to despair... she begged the others to reconsider, but she was always rebuffed. Nanami and their teacher were killed, and they didn't listen...! They didn't listen, as the body count became higher and higher...

Enoshima brought her to her lowest point, then told her...

_'You're hated by the world for associating with us. Why not become a despair? We'd accept you then. You can't sink much lower, can you?'_

And Mioda had nothing else to try.

With every body, she hated herself. With every disaster, she hated Enoshima. With every despair, she hated, hated, hated, hated, **_hated...!_**

"You... turned me into this... you turned all of us into this...!"

There was nowhere left to fall. She was the lowest of the low... the outcast amongst even the most hated people in the world... the most hated person...

"At the very least... let me have my revenge."

No. That wasn't what she wanted.

"At the very least... let Akamatsu's death destroy their hope for the second Enoshima," Mioda prayed. "So that they can turn back on despair... So they can start over..."

Laughing, laughing, and laughing some more, Mioda gave up.

"There were so many things Ibuki wanted to do with the friends she would make... like a party and baking together, splitting watermelons on a beach, fireworks and a concert...! Let's make one last song, before Ibuki tries to bring everything down to the ground."

Standing from the rubble, Mioda began strumming her guitar loud enough to attract the attention of anyone who passed by.

* * *

"Feeling tremors in the ground!" Maki reported into her headset. "Everyone, converge on my location!"

 _"Yo, room for some more?"_ Kokichi's voice butted in.

"Huh? What are you doing?" Maki asked, turning down a street to drive her motorcycle directly towards the source of the shaking.

_"The despairs had a huge plan about tricking us into a despair-controlled hospital, you know? That just means they don't have the power to beat us head-on. So, the logical answer is to..."_

_"Crush them!"_ Monaka exclaimed. 

_"Don't be so careless with the machinery!"_ Miu scolded her. 

_"Remember, these are precious materials Jataro let us use!"_ Angie exclaimed.

 _"What are you planning?"_ Kaito asked, since Maki had to focus on not losing control in the tumultuous rumbling.

 _"If it's a hospital, it's Tsumiki,"_ Shuuichi stated. _"And, well, Tsumiki doesn't use the brainwashing masks. We want to subdue them peacefully if we can."_

 _"Also, we had a bomb on the floor that we wanted to use,"_ Nagisa added.

_"Gonta will trust you to have good results!"_

_"Do your best!"_ Tenko cheered.

Maki let out a breath of air, before bursting ahead.

"This is the Future Foundation! You're under arrest!"

Mioda looked at her, then grinned, aiming another blast of music at her!

Maki kept walking.

Confused, Mioda upped the volume, making the ground quake beneath Maki's feet...

But, Maki withstood the force and kept moving forward.

Then, Mioda flipped a switch, aiming to shoot fire at the assassin--!

Taking off her headset, Maki snapped.

"Don't even try it," she declared, using the headset Miu had made as a bludgeon, smashing it into Mioda's guitar.

The instrument fell to the floor in pieces...

Mioda clicked her teeth, backing up with a glare. Until she hit the wall behind her, as Maki closed in...

"What, then? Will you kill me? Are you another one of my poor, helpless victims?" Mioda demanded, her stance resembling a cornered rat's.

"You don't get anything as good as death," Maki answered. "You're going to repent for your crimes until the day you die!"

"Huh... very soft," Mioda noted. "Ibuki thought you would have instantly gone _'bang bang'_ all murder-like."

"Maybe if I were alone," Maki replied. "But there's someone who believes all of you deserve a chance to **start over**."

Mioda's eyes widened.

"...really?"

"Surprisingly, it's true."

"Then, here," Mioda said, ripping her improvised bandage from her wound.

She used her blood to paint on the wall, making quick lines... when she found that she didn't have enough, she used her teeth to cause blood to flow anew.

"This is where Mikan-chan is," Mioda informed Maki, pointing to a building to the west of the map, close to the water. "Hiyoko-chan's got a boat in the water. The plan was to get Akamatsu to Mikan-chan's hospital so she could be brainwashed, while her patients and Hiyoko-chan's family kept all of you from getting near."

"You... why did you do that...?" Maki demanded, eyes drawn to the bleeding wound in horror.

"Everything needs to end one day," Mioda replied. "Even despair's reign."

Kaito burst in, just as Mioda collapsed from the pain and blood loss.

"What...?" Kaito asked as Maki caught the despair. "What the hell happened to her hand?! Was... was that you...?!"

"...she changed her mind," Maki said simply.

As Kaito moved to use emergency medical supplies to treat Mioda's wound, Maki couldn't help but wonder...

_'She... wanted it to end so badly, she bit off two of her fingers...?'_

* * *

"So, that's where Tsumiki is," Korekiyo said, nodding along to Maki's report.

"Next stop, the nurse!" Angie announced as Ryoma turned to pick up the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kaede woke up to chattering and her head resting on top of something nice... her head felt so foggy...

Then, two things happened at once. 

The first thing was that Kaede instinctively moved to sit up, not quite processing her surroundings.

The second was that Kokichi immediately noticed his girlfriend moving off of his lap, his body moving to hug her without his mind's input.

This resulted in Kokichi cutting himself off during an explanation of the plan to suddenly hug the recently-awakened Kaede.

It was a bit awkward, since they were both sitting down and, as Kaede was in the process of sitting up, Kokichi wound up hugging her from the side, but Kokichi didn't care and Kaede didn't mind.

"You're awake! Kaede!"

"Kokichi, where are we--" Kaede's voice died as Kokichi pulled away enough for her to see his expression, his smile dropping off his face in less than a second.

"For the love of god, stop being an idiot!" Kokichi ordered. "This was the _second goddamn time_ I've been waiting for you to wake up while worrying that you were dead!" 

"I-I'm sorry?"

"You better be, you absolute moron!"

"So, I'm assuming we're done here?" Rantarou piped up, reminding Kokichi that they were still in the middle of something. Kokichi still looked completely pissed as he let go.

"Big Sis Kaede, are you okay?!" Monaka asked in a panic. "Do you remember us?! Does it hurt badly or do you feel weird or--"

"Monaka-chan, calm down!" Nagisa interrupted.

"I'm okay, I'm okay!" Kaede said hurriedly.

"What's my name?!"

"Monaka! You're Monaka!" Kaede exclaimed.

"And Gonta?!"

Kaede panicked and quickly listed off everyone's names, watching them let out a sigh in relief when she recalled them.

Then, Kaede realized something. "Why are we all in the van together?"

"You woke up just in time," Ryoma said from the driver's seat, using Miu's controller to drive without touching the steering wheel or the pedals. "We're about to storm Tsumiki's territory."

"Then! Tell me the plan! I'll come along with you!" Kaede declared.

"No!" several people at once retorted.

"Don't even think about it," Shuuichi hissed. "You've been injured."

"No way in hell! You just woke up!" Kaito declared.

"You need to rest your head," Kirumi stated. "The guitar grazed your head, but the studs on it left a cut. You've lost some blood, but we're lucky your skull wasn't bashed in."

Kaede's eyes widened, then gingerly raised her hand to her forehead. She felt bandages around her skull, still slightly wet...

"Oi, Kokichi, keep her from doin' something stupid again," Miu ordered. 

Kokichi laughed.

"Don't worry about a thing," Kokichi told her with a soft smile. "You've done enough, so we handled it this time. Just sit back and watch, we'll protect you."

Kaede watched in silence as the others prepared...

 _"Hey,"_ Himiko's voice came in through Kokichi's communicator. _"I'm on a roof and, well, you sure this is the right place?"_

 _"It looks more like a pile of rubble,"_ Kiibo added. _"How is this a place you can keep anyone...?"_

"It's info Makiroll got us, so it's gotta be true," Kaito stated, before looking at Maki.

"How accurate do you think that information was?" Korekiyo asked, hands twitching in anticipation.

"I have complete faith in Mioda's words," Maki told them.

"But, aren't the despairs liars and cheaters?" Masaru asked, helping the other kids with the devices they had made with Angie and Miu.

"She bit off two of her fingers and used that blood to draw the map for me," Maki stated, "all because _'even despair needs to end someday.'"_

Everyone stared at Maki in horror.

"She what?!" Tenko screamed.

"Oh my god, that's completely insane," Kaede said. "How long was I unconscious."

"Okay, but, even if she meant it, it's probably hard to draw like that," Angie pointed out. "What if she meant it, but messed up the map because of her wounds or the blood loss?"

"Then, at the very least, it's going to be near the water," Maki stated. "She said the plan was for Saionji to lend her support from a boat in the water."

Kokichi froze.

"...Saionji's involved?"

"Then we can take them both out," Kaede said, already shifting back into her leader mode.

 _"Alright, I'll get back to searching the area then..."_ Himiko's voice chimed in.

 _"A-ack?! Himiko-san?! Don't just jump off the building!"_ Kiibo screamed.

"She's going to give one of us a heart attack one day..." Shuuichi grumbled under his breath.

"No, I'm sure Kiibo's already at that day," Rantarou replied.

 _"Well, good news and bad news,"_ Himiko said. 

"Oh no," Kirumi whispered instinctively.

_"Bad news is that I almost died."_

"Himiko!" Tenko cried out in panic.

_"Good news is that I am not dead, and I've even done something good on top of that."_

"And that would be...?" Kaede found herself asking.

_"It turns out, there's a secret door to an underground complex hidden in the rubble of the building Maki told us about."_

_"Oh god. Oh no. Himiko-san. Oh god...!"_ Kiibo began screaming in a panic.

_"More bad news: I accidentally crashed into the door and am now underground."_

There was a moment of silence, before Himiko added something else.

_"So, it turns out that Tsumiki really is down here."_

"Ryoma, please for the love of Atua tell me that we're almost there," Angie asked flatly.

"I'm going as fast as we can go," Ryoma replied.

_"Okay, so, don't get mad at me for this, but I may or may not have been surrounded and kidnapped."_

_"Himiko-san oh my god--"_

_"Hey, hey, you don't mind helping me, right...?"_ Tsumiki's voice said into the communicator. _"I mean, I'll let your friend go, all I need is a bit of time alone with the girl. You know the one. I'll return both of them right after, so... please?"_

Everyone in the van was deathly silent as Tsumiki giggled.

_"I'll be waiting~!"_

The communicator cut out just as Kiibo screamed in frustration.

"...god _dammit_ , what is it with the girls in this group and doing stupid, dangerous things," Kokichi swore under his breath. 

> A reminder:
> 
>   1. It was Kaede's idea to storm Towa City with a bag of knives.
>   2. It was also her idea to storm Towa City in general.
>   3. Also her idea to send a van into a horde of Monokuma robots.
>   4. And the motorcycles, using the remains of a flaming van as a ramp, and crashing through a window. (Also applies to Himiko and Kirumi.)
>   5. She gave Komaeda a flying kick to the face while being carried by Kiibo.
>   6. Kirumi and Himiko then crashed through the airship's window on a motorcycle.
>   7. Kirumi made a glider in about 47 seconds out of a curtain, curtain rod, and a spear, then jumped out a window while carrying Kokichi.
>   8. Kaede, Angie, and Kotoko acted like despairs while surrounded and forced into a sadistic choice, somehow making it out with Hanamura surrendering.
>   9. Kaede accidentally turned Tsumugi over to their side through kindness and head pats, despite Tsumugi _setting up a killing game with all of them._
>   10. Harukawa "you want me to walk in through the front door of a despair's hideout, no idea what the hell's in there, and be as loud and annoying as possible" Maki.
>   11. Kaede posed as Enoshima Junko in front of both the remaining members of SHSL Despair and _other members of the Future Foundation._
>   12. Himiko jumped off an airship with a case of bugs.
>   13. Miu threw herself at Mioda midair.
>   14. Komaru got Monaka to _crash the airship into the water_ to use the resulting splash combined with the paralyze bullet to shock legions of robots.
>   15. Kotoko was the one who came up with using their giant robots to fight the Godzilla ripoff.
>   16. Kirumi crashed through the window on a motorcycle again.
>   17. Tenko used the fact that Kirumi was on a motorcycle to beat Owari in a fight.
>   18. Genocide Jack.
>   19. Miu resisted being drugged through the power of lust and survived in the middle of a crowd of despairs with nothing but four fists.
>   20. Kaede got hit with a guitar acting like a despair to distract Mioda.
>   21. Miu's plan for getting rid of the bombs consisted of throwing them all out a hole in the wall.
>   22. Maki destroyed a guitar by taking off the noise-cancelling headphones that protected her and hitting the guitar with them.
>   23. **NEW:** Himiko got captured by crashing into the entrance to the despair's hideout.
> 


Kaede... began to laugh nervously...

* * *

"So, you gonna drug me?" Himiko asked, tied to a chair with Tsumiki.

"No, you're going to be used as a bargaining chip," Tsumiki explained politely. "I don't know why, but they're scared of you becoming one of my happy, healthy patients... so, I might as well use that, right?"

She smiled innocently, brandishing a syringe...

"But I'm scared of needles," Himiko said bluntly.

"No worries, I have pills too!" Tsumiki exclaimed, pulling out a medicine bottle.

"I always had trouble swallowing medicine in pills..." Himiko admitted. "I always had to crush them up and mix it in..."

"Oh dear... that won't work very well, these pills need to be swallowed whole to be effective..." Tsumiki mumbled.

"Don't you have like, gummies...?" Himiko asked warily.

"Hmm... well, I could _try_ and make some..." 

Tsumiki was so distracted by thoughts of how to best drug Himiko into submission that she didn't notice the sound of chaos outside.

* * *

"The plan's simple," Kokichi grinned to Kaede as he explained.

* * *

"Hm?" Tsumiki glanced at the door, only for Himiko to start screaming.

"Oh, oh no! It hurts suddenly...! I might die right now!" she wailed, forcing Tsumiki to pay attention to her and not the sounds in the hallway.

"We can't have that now, can we...?" Tsumiki muttered to herself.

* * *

"Kiibo-chan can't be affected by the drugs like everyone else can, so he charges ahead and sets up our trap!"

* * *

Kiibo flew over the horde of patients in the hallway, dropping the device the kids had made with Angie and Miu in front of the crowd.

It went unnoticed as they continued to charge together at the intruders...

* * *

"It's a device made from a bomb Mioda couldn't detonate, some of Jataro-kun's scales, and a special ingredient!"

"Special ingredient?" Kaede repeated.

Kokichi winked before showing her something he swiped from her inner jacket pocket.

"Got any ideas, yet?"

Kaede's eyes widened.

"Yes, but also, how did you do that?!"

Kokichi laughed.

"I gotta have some secrets, right?"

* * *

"Get back!" Korekiyo ordered. "It's about to go off...!"

Tenko and Gonta nodded, Kaito and Maki already getting ready...!

"Put on the masks!" Angie added.

They all equipped improvised gas masks made from the tools and materials Jataro had in his bag, with him even offering up his own mask in order to finish the last one.

The explosive went off, the device heating up the contents of several sleeping darts!

The makeshift bomb went off, filling the hallway with sleeping gas!

The patients who had been in the midst of the explosion fainted immediately, while those who still stood, but breathed in the fumes... they started to sway and stumble...

"Almost ready?" Rantarou asked.

"Wait just a little bit longer!" Miu shot back, using her robot arms like a windmill to blow the gas towards the remaining patients.

"Now!" Kiibo declared.

"Let's clean this up!" Kirumi exclaimed.

* * *

"And, while they're so easy to subdue, we get Ryoma-chan and Shuu-chan to direct the reinforcements here so that they can deliver the patients to the Future Foundation. Maki-chan, Kaito-chan, Gonta-chan, and Tenko-chan knock out the remaining patients so that Angie-chan, Ran-chan, Rumi-chan, Kiibo-chan, and the kids can help them get out of that hospital," Kokichi explained. 

* * *

Korekiyo's eyes widened at the sight of a certain patient.

"No... but, you..."

"Who are you?" the girl replied, stunning him.

* * *

"Then it's just a matter of Miko-chan and being rescued in a safe and secure manner."

* * *

Himiko had been steadily untying herself while distracting Tsumiki, until, of course, Korekiyo charged into the room, grabbed Tsumiki by the shirt labels, and slammed her against the wall, making her drop the bottle she was holding.

"You told me she was dead! You said the only way to make her happy was to kill people for her to make friends in heaven!"

Tsumiki hesitated.

"And you are... oh, that mask. Hm, you're the boy with the sister, right?" Tsumiki asked.

"Shinguuji Korekiyo!" Korekiyo yelled. "You lied to me! You tricked me into killing!"

"Hmm? No, I didn't?" Tsumiki replied. "I told you your sister was dead, because once you become hooked on my drugs, there's no going back to who you once were. But, she was so happy and free of pain that she was in a place like heaven, and it would make her happy if there were more patients in her heavenly hospital."

Korekiyo began to shake.

"I'm very sorry that you misunderstood my words," Tsumiki said with a smile, her hand reaching for a tray... "Might I offer you the chance to reunite with her?"

She grabbed a syringe.

"The chance to be happy once again?"

"Don't even think about it!" Himiko screamed, escaping with a magician's skill, knocking the needle out of the nurse's hand.

Tsumiki's eyes widened, before she hurriedly took a communicator out of her pocket.

"S-Saionji-san! Help, they've cornered me...!" she sobbed with overblown tears. "You need to help! Enoshima the Second is almost here--!"

And then Korekiyo snapped.

"Shut up... shut up, shut up, shut up--!!!"

He began to strangle the nurse.

 _"Of course not, you stupid pig. Just accept that you've lost, I don't need a dumb bitch like you anyways,"_ the answer came.

Tsumiki Mikan realized something then.

She was probably going to die, betrayed and alone. Without even her patients to help her, without a single hope of seeing Enoshima the Second...

Despair-inducing.

So, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so despair-inducing.

Ahaha.

Ahahahahahahahahahaha _hahahahahahahahahahahahahah_ **ahahahahahaha** **hahahahahahahahah** _ **ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!**_

"Stop it!" Himiko cried, but Korekiyo didn't hear her...

"I'll handle this!"

Himiko stepped away at the sound of Angie's voice, just in time for the artist to rush in and punch Korekiyo in the stomach.

"Don't you dare kill her when we've come this far," Angie ordered, Tsumiki collapsing to a pile on the floor.

Korekiyo's breathing slowly calmed down as Himiko went to tie Tsumiki up in the same ropes...

 _"Oh, is the bitch dead?"_ Saionji asked. _"Aw, I wanted to be the one who killed her."_

"...Saionji Hiyoko?" Himiko asked.

_"Obviously. Who else would I be?"_

"Should we just turn it off?" Korekiyo asked. "She seems like she'll be annoying."

"No, no, it's important to track the signals," Angie replied.

_"Urgh, I don't even want to talk to you assholes anyways. Can't you pass the line to someone more interesting? Like, I dunno. Enoshima. Or Kokichi, that bastard was pretty fun."_

The trio exchanged a hesitant glance.

"Okay," Himiko said. "Sure, you can talk to them."

* * *

_"It's a job well done,"_ Shuuichi reported. _"We're going back to the Future Foundation with the patients and the prisoners. Talk to you again soon."_

"'kay!" Kokichi replied happily.

That was when Himiko opened the van door, handing over a foreign communicator to the couple.

"It's for you two," she said, before turning to go to the others outside.

Kokichi stared at it for a few seconds, then...

 _"Well, how do you do, old pal?"_ Saionji Hiyoko greeted him cheerfully. _"How about we make a deal?"_

...

"No, my mom told me not to accept offers like that from creepy strangers," Kokichi retorted instantly.

_"Aw, I'm a stranger now? Even with all the time we spent together? Isn't that a bit cruel?"_

"I think the crueler thing to do is to kill my friends and family."

_"That's a lie. We both know you didn't have the second one."_

Kaede gave Kokichi a concerned look, before being distracted by a panicked cry outside.

"What do you want," Kokichi demanded flatly, not even noticing Kaede's eyes drifting away.

_"I want to surrender. There's no way I could possibly win against you and all your forces."_

"Still a shitty liar, I see."

_"Oh, so you admit we knew each other. Good."_

"Kokichi."

Kokichi mouthed his intended message, and Kaede realized that he was trying to figure out what Saionji's intentions were. Which, well, did not help in telling him.

 _"Since we were such good friends in the past, I wanted to offer you a chance,"_ Saionji said, standing on the deck of her boat, with the members of her family all around her.

Despite taking such heavy losses in every battle, her family always seemed to grow and grow in numbers... because she had already razed her family tree to the ground, and was taking everyone who resembled them, in looks, traits, or personality, into her army.

They manned the weapons installed by Souda, missiles, machine guns, and cannons as they approached land, the ship easily dwarfing the remaining group in their van.

The people left, aside from Kaede and Kokichi, were Korekiyo, Angie, Himiko, Gonta, Rantarou, and Kiibo, nowhere near enough to fight that much firepower...

Kaede grimaced as Kokichi looked outside, seeing the others transfixed in the despair of having such a powerful enemy...

Saionji's voice came through the communicator once again.

**_"Surrender Akamatsu Kaede or die."_**

Kokichi looked up at the cruise ship, with all its weapons and gadgets, and...

"No way in hell."

...refused outright.


	36. Chapter 36

Kokichi threw the despair's communicator out, then yelled to the others. 

"Get in the fucking van!" he ordered, tossing the controller to Kaede.

The others hurried into the car as Kokichi shut the doors, Kaede starting the car as fast as possible.

"Everyone in here?" Kaede asked.

"We forgot Kiibo!" Himiko screamed.

"He'll live!" Kokichi retorted. 

"Actually, isn't this perfect?" Angie asked. "Because it's Kiibo!"

Korekiyo's eyes widened, then he grabbed his communicator.

"Kiibo-kun!" he called out. "Use your jetpack and guns to your advantage!"

 _"Already on it!"_ Kiibo replied.

"Okay, so, any ideas?" Rantarou asked.

"Kaede?" Kokichi passed it along, rummaging through his suit jacket for supplies.

"I'm kind of busy here!" Kaede replied over the sound of thunderous gunfire. She panicked as she realized that the cruise ship had fired at a building in front of them, causing the precarious structure to start falling apart.

"Turn around!" Gonta ordered. "It'll fall on us!"

Kaede forced the car to turn around in a curve, causing it to lurch unsteadily. She spun it around, driving off at a ninety degree angle from her initial direction.

"Okay, so, I have some electrobombs, normal grenades, spare sleeping darts, a back-up communicator, medical supplies, a switchblade, and my handbook," Kokichi said. "Any of you guys?"

"Glider," Himiko added.

"Rope," Korekiyo offered.

"...Gonta found fake Monokuma helmets in the back?"

"I found a lockpick set on the kitchen table this morning," Rantarou added. "Plus some more electrobombs."

"Oh, I was wondering where that went," Kokichi said, taking the contents of Rantarou's hand.

"Angie has ropes from Tsumiki, handcuffs, art tools, and a slingshot."

Upon hearing this, Kaede spoke up.

"I have a stupid, dangerous idea."

Kokichi grinned at those words.

* * *

Kiibo weaved his way through gunfire and missiles as he tried to shoot at their weaponry. His natural speed and maneuverability made the job easier, especially compared to a massive cruise ship, but sometimes, it felt like they weren't even aiming at him...

"I'm going to try and take out one of their main cannons!" Kiibo declared into his earpiece. "Get out of here while you can!"

 _"They're trying to trap us!"_ Kokichi retorted. _"They're aiming at the buildings around us to trap us in the rubble!"_

 _"So you're going to have some help!"_ Kaede screamed. _"Try and take them out as fast as possible so we can escape!"_

"Understood!" Kiibo claimed, having not yet seen exactly what their idea of help was.

Kaede turned, driving parallel to the shore, as close as she could without entering the water herself!

Angie finished with her carving and rapid-fire gluing, giving the others the thumbs up.

With a nod, Rantarou and Kokichi pushed open the van doors.

Himiko jumped out!

With her glider and Monokuma Helmet on her head (for safety), she took flight, the rope tethering her to the moving van! Gonta held onto the end of the rope tightly, as Korekiyo directed its movement! She swung over the cruise ship, over their shots at the buildings behind them!

Himiko's legs were handcuffed to the main pole of the glider, letting her use her hands as she pleased.

And she used her hands to rain explosives down on their deck with the slingshot.

Kiibo was stunned for a moment, before joining in on the assault!

They hurriedly fired shot after shot, some missing entirely, some hitting their mark!

But...! 

"Dammit...!" Kaede swore, after having another escape route cut off by collapsing debris. "We're not deactivating them fast enough! We're going to be trapped!"

 _"I'm out of ammo!"_ Himiko screamed into her communicator. _"Get me down, they're starting to aim at me!"_

As Gonta and Korekiyo rushed to help her descend, Kiibo became more aggressive, putting himself in front of their crosshairs! 

_"Don't worry! I'll get them off your tail!"_ Kiibo declared, twisting around a missile.

Kaede gritted her teeth, as Kiibo shot himself directly at the cruise ship!

"What are you doing?!" Kokichi demanded into his communicator.

"Oh no...!" Angie gasped.

"Kiibo-kun!" Gonta cried out.

They couldn't see it, but Kiibo had thrown himself into the fray, changing his arm into a sword to cut apart their firearms himself!

"Hey, we can't have that, you know?" Saionji said with a grin, pulling a fan out of the depths of her sleeve. "I'll take you on if you're so insistent!"

Kiibo's eyes widened, before Saionji rushed at him. In a panic, he brought his sword down--

"Amateur," she said, blocking his strike with her fan, creating the sound of... a blade against a blade? 

She kicked at him, dancing beautifully between each one of his unsure strikes. Saionji was taking full advantage of his unwillingness to kill her, twirling around him in a dizzying array of spins and jumps.

All this, to keep him from attacking the cannons. All this, to keep him from being able to take off and resume his attack from above. 

Saionji laughed, kicking Kiibo to the floor. All the accumulated damage and fatigue forced the robot to shut down to recover, despite his attempts to fight his automated functions...!

* * *

"No...!" Kaede whispered in horror, realizing that there was nothing but rubble around her, no matter where they turned...

"Dammit," Himiko swore, having already prepared for another jump out.

"We can still run on foot!" Rantarou exclaimed. "We just need to climb over it, right?!"

"Atua, have mercy on us...!" 

Korekiyo helped Himiko out of the handcuffs as Gonta clenched his fists.

"That's right...! Gonta can throw you over and climb up after you! We don't need to give up now!"

The van rolled to a stop, the occupants hurriedly climbing out, but...

"It's here..." Kokichi said, the boat already at shore. Saionji's masked army had already set up a gangplank, all their soldiers approaching...

"They're too close," Rantarou noted, grimacing. "Only half of us would be able to escape at most..."

Kaede couldn't breathe.

None of them could move, not when there was nowhere to run to...!

The doors opened from the outside. The masked family members had torn the doors off through sheer force. 

Standing in middle point between van and ship was a tall woman in a pale kimono.

"Well?" Saionji Hiyoko asked, both hands behind her back as she approached. She had an innocent, innocent grin on her face. "Still so defiant?"

"Fuck you," Kokichi spat out.

"Don't be so rude," Saionji retorted instantly. "If you don't give her up, I'll have to kill all of you, you know?"

"We're willing," Angie said, pulling out her carving knife. Rantarou pulled out his dart gun, and the others prepared for a fight, when...

"I'll go with you," Kaede declared, getting up from the driver's seat. "No need for all this fuss."

"Oh, wonderful!" Saionji exclaimed happily. "You see? It's so easy to be nice, polite, and compliant."

Kaede moved towards Saionji, when Kokichi grabbed her by the sleeve.

"Wait—"

Kokichi's cry was cut off when Kaede kissed him. His eyes were wide as she pulled away slightly.

"Don't worry," she whispered in the space between their lips, her hand moving while her back blocked Saionji's view, "it's all going to be okay."

Stunned, Kokichi watched as she got out of the van, walking to meet Saionji in the middle.

"Giving up out of your own free will?" Saionji asked.

"Of course," Kaede answered. "I'm not an idiot. I know when we've lost."

Kaede presented her hands for handcuffing, two fists with the palms facing each other...

Saionji was giddy as she moved to restrain the second Enoshima.

And then Kaede moved.

With merciless eyes, she stabbed her fist, the _sleeping dart_ at Saionji's neck—!

"You--!"

"Nice fucking try," Saionji said in response, snapping her fan shut.

Kaede's eyes widened in a split second of fear, regret, and panic, before Saionji plucked the sleeping dart out of her fan.

The dancer smirked, before kicking Kaede in the stomach.

"Urgh--!"

While she was downed, Saionji stabbed the dart into her shoulder.

"Kaede!" Kokichi screamed instinctively as the pianist fell to the ground. Saionji threw the projectile over her shoulder, the dart smashing against the ground...

Saionji laughed as her guards moved to block the way. She handed Kaede over to some of her cronies, turning back on the van.

"See you never!" Saionji declared with a smug grin. 

Kokichi was the first to move amongst the stunned, horrified group...

He chased after them, ducking under punches and kicks, dodging swings of bats and pipes with all the experience of someone used to being in a street fight. Kokichi managed to get onto the boat right after Saionji went inside...!

The sight of Kokichi fighting his hardest awakened the others to their senses!

The masked army was only hostile to Kokichi, as he was the only one posing a threat, but, when they saw the others move, they started to move! Gonta, Himiko, Angie, and Korekiyo shoved them away in a hurry!

Rantarou looked out the window and realized the cruise ship was starting to move!

"We can't let them get away!" Rantarou screamed, before getting an idea.

Rantarou grabbed the controller.

"Let's help them out," he said simply.

* * *

"So fucking stubborn..." Saionji groaned, stopping in the hallway. Her guards stopped around her, including the one carrying Kaede. None of them made any move to hurt Kokichi.

Kokichi came to a stop, realizing instantly that the fact that she bothered to speak to him meant there was a moment of relative calm, compared to the running and dodging, at least.

"Well?" Saionji asked. "Do you want to get in some dramatic lines, or should we skip to the part where you join SHSL Despair?"

"You really think I'll crack from this?" Kokichi asked, expression blank as she took out her fan once again. 

With a click, blades slid out of the fan, and she pressed a single one to Kaede's neck.

"Of course!" Saionji said with a grin too innocent for her actions. "After all, you love her, right?"

Kokichi didn't answer.

"It's funny, actually. You fall for a tall, blonde girl with a loving personality and huge boobs... you sure you weren't projecting an image of me onto her or something?"

"There's nothing about you that's loving," Kokichi retorted.

_'She wants me to crack. She wants me to break. She wants me to despair.'_

"Is that so?" she let out a laugh that was far too innocent. "Then, let's get rid of her."

_'She won't. She can't. She needs Kaede alive to be Enoshima-'_

Kokichi's thoughts whirred around his head.

_'But. She's insane. The despair from destroying the next Enoshima could, she might actually-'_

His eyes widened as she made to move her knife, and at the sight of Kaede's blood--

-his mind went blank.

 _"Stop!"_ Kokichi cried out desperately.

"See, being honest isn't too bad once in a while," Saionji said. "So, since we're old friends, I'll let you choose. You either get thrown back with your friends, with videos of her getting broken in captivity to become Enoshima the Second, or you can come with us. Become one of us."

Kokichi watched with wide eyes as she spun the knife around in her fingers, the masked guards watching on impassively.

"It's not so bad, right? You can find another family, another DICE with us. We'll treat the two of you well. And what will it cost you?"

She pointed the blade at Kaede's eye and Kokichi forgot how to breathe.

"You know you can't trust them. You know you can't believe in anyone, you know?" Saionji asked. "You'll be betrayed, over and over again, just like I betrayed you... but at least this way, you have the power to betray them first. You can predict when I will betray you. You can protect your little sweetheart from being hurt."

Saionji began to laugh as tears filled Kokichi's eyes.

**"You already killed some faceless minions before. Why not kill some more, right here, right now?"**

_"Let's make a world where you and everyone else won't have to kill. You'll never ever have to kill again. We promised to make the world a better place, right?"_

**"Come _on_. Do you really think she loves you? When there are so many better people out there? _Please_ , if anything, taking them out of the equation is just keeping pests from taking her away!" **

_"The person I fell for is you and no one else. You make me smile and laugh. That's all I want."_

**"You really think she _trusts_ you at all?"**

_"There's never been a time where trusting you didn't work out for the best."_

**"Even if you could, can you really trust the world with her? You don't want to run away, to have a peaceful life, just the two of you? You really think she could ever be safe in this world?"**

Saionji laughed and laughed, and Kokichi came to a decision.

"I..."

"Yes?" Saionji said with a seductive grin.

"I don't give a damn what you're saying," Kokichi declared.

"Hm?" Saionji replied. "Really? Honestly?"

"I don't. Not at all," Kokichi stated, his voice shaking.

Saionji paused.

"How sad... pitifully sad, really."

"I don't care what you say, as long as she's okay!" Kokichi screamed desperately. 

Saionji's eyes widened, before she lit up. She fanned her face with a bright smile.

"Oh, what a surprise!"

"I can't... lose her again... never again..." Kokichi whimpered. "As long as she's alive... as long as she's mine... as long as you don't ruin her...! I don't care...! I don't care what I have to become...! I don't care if she'll hate me! As long as we're together--!"

His voice cracked as he started to smile.

"I don't care...! As long as she's okay!"

Saionji began to cackle.

"Your will sure crumbled fast. Guess you really must love her."

Kokichi began to laugh like a broken man.

"If it'll make her happy, I'll do it for her. If it'll keep her safe, I'll do anything."

"Then, go ahead and kill them," Saionji ordered with a smile.

She snapped her fingers, causing the masked bodyguards to let her carry Kaede's body.

"Of course, I won't let her go until you do it," she said with a twisted grin.

"I... just want one minute," Kokichi said. "Just one. I promised we'd get married after... I have a ring I wanted to give her after this mission."

"Hmm, so all it will take for you to kill your friends is one minute, all so you can put a ring on her finger?" Saionji asked.

"I won't ever let her go again," Kokichi declared, grinning like a madman. "She'll be mine as long as we're both- no, even after our deaths!"

"I'll give you a minute, then," Saionji said with a smile. "I'll be watching, of course."

Kokichi let out a hollow laugh as Saionji let him take Kaede's unconscious body.

"Don't worry! I'll protect you, Kaede! I'll protect you, no matter what!"

Saying that, he embraced her with one arm, the other reaching inside his suit jacket.

"We'll be together forever... it'll be like a prison cell, just for the two of us," he promised, removing the ring.

Saionji only noticed something wrong with the motion after it was too late.

"What...?"

"Looks like I'm a better liar than you thought," Kokichi stated, smirking as he held Kaede's hand. 

The ring he had placed on her finger...

-turned out to be a grenade pin.


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SO FUCKING HAPPY YOUTUBE IS JUST GIVING ME PUYO PUYO SONGS YES THIS IS WHAT I WANT OUT OF MY VIEWING EXPERIENCE

"Why did we let Rantarou drive again....!?" Himiko demanded, holding her hands over her mouth. Gonta patted her back in sympathy. "Didn't we agree to never do that again?!"

"How are you getting carsick?! We flew you from a kite?!" Rantarou demanded, smashing the van into one of the deck's cannons head-on.

The reinforced metal frame was meant to protect it from bullets and severe impacts, but that didn't mean it was a good idea to just smash it into giant firearms!

"I might have been hanging from a kite, but that doesn't mean I don't have limits!"

"Isn't the interior in the _other_ direction?" Angie asked as Korekiyo began to pray. Not just for them, but for the poor, poor helmeted marksmen who were run over...

"Just hold on!" Rantarou replied, which was absolutely not a good sign.

He turned so much, the van was like a figure skater, swerving around on on set of wheels... the graceless spin sent Gonta flying, and since Saionji's army had torn off the doors, there was nothing to keep Gonta from falling out of the car...

"We just lost Gonta!" Angie screamed in horror as Gonta rolled over the bodies of the other people Rantarou had hit.

"He'll live!" Rantarou retorted.

"We're all going to die!" Himiko screamed, desperately hanging onto the driver's seat headrest. They were going so fast that her feet were just hanging behind her, in a horizontal position... Korekiyo was hanging on by a rope tying him to the passenger's seat, while Angie tied her jacket to the seatbelt...

"Come on, guys, where's your sense of _adventure_?" Rantarou asked as they crashed through the door to the lower interior of the boat.

His only answer was a loud scream from three different people.

"Wait... Gonta is still here!" Gonta cried out, still on the deck.

And then he noticed something strange among the piles of car accident victims.

"...Kiibo-kun?"

He helped Kiibo up, then pushed the button on the back of his neck.

Kiibo snapped back to life! And, with his sword arm, immediately tried to stab—

"Argh—!" Gonta screamed, catching Kiibo's wrist and forcing it away from his body. "It's Gonta! Please do not kill Gonta!"

"Ah, sorry!" Kiibo replied. "I didn't realize my surroundings!"

And then he looked around. Saw all the bodies scattered around the deck.

"...I still do not understand my surroundings!"

"Rantarou-kun was driving the van," Gonta said, and Kiibo immediately nodded in understanding. "Kaede-san was captured, Kokichi-kun went ahead to save her, and the others went ahead to find them and help them."

"Then, let's go together!" Kiibo declared. "We cannot allow Rantarou-kun to crash into more— I mean, we can't just leave our friends alone!"

The two went off together!

* * *

In a split second, Saionji flinched, letting Kokichi pull off two things in one motion.

He swung his arm in an arc, firstly punching Saionji in the face with an electrobomb, and secondly, tossing the explosive at the masked guards behind him!

Saionji fell back with a cry, letting Kokichi grab another electrobomb and smash it at the rest of Saionji's guards!

Before she could recover, Kokichi scooped Kaede up in his arms and ran. The fact that her guards wouldn't listen to her orders was bound to give him more time!

 _'Kaito-chan, I'll thank you when we get back!'_ Kokichi thought, making a mental list of his supplies. 

> He had on him...
> 
>   * Exactly one electrobomb
>   * Three real grenades
>   * Three _fake_ grenades 
>   * Decoy communicator
>   * Real communicator (hidden in a toy phone)
>   * Dart gun + sleeping darts
>   * Extra sleeping darts
>   * Compromising photos and documents to "convince" the head of the transportation division (don't tell Kaede)
>   * Medical supplies
>   * Handbook
>   * Lockpick
>   * Switchblade
> 


Kokichi thought long and hard as he ran, trying to figure out the most strategic way to approach things. 

He set Kaede down on the floor carefully, patting her head before taking out two of his grenades.

Pulling the pins and tossing the first far behind him, then throwing the second to a distant door he had absolutely no intention of entering, he scooped Kaede back up and stood back up.

The explosion was loud as hell, something he cursed, before turning back and seeing the damage.

"Miu, you realize that the point of a grenade is to make debris, not make craters, right?!" he asked himself out of sheer shock, gaping at the newly-added smoking gaps in the wall and floor.

_'It'll help make sure people can't reach us, but it's loud enough that anyone can find us now!'_

And then Kokichi got an idea.

"Down we go!" he told Kaede, before jumping down the rabbit hole.

Well, she couldn't hear him, but he liked talking to her. 

Not noticing Kaede's handbook fall to the floor, he continued running around the lower floor of the boat to escape Saionji!

* * *

"You think you can send a message to Kokichi-kun or something?!" Rantarou demanded, driving the van through a hallway that was never meant to have a van in it.

"You want me to let go of this lifeline while you're flinging us around like ragdolls?!" Korekiyo shot back.

"Hey, it's necessary for the mission!" Rantarou declared, turning back to glare at the masked man. "We need to locate them, right?!"

"Rantarou, eyes ahead! Please, _for the love of Atua_ , keep your eyes—!"

Angie's words went unheard as they plowed right into a group of masked guards.

Saionji screamed, pressing her back to the wall just in time for the van to barrel past her.

The van embedded itself into a wall, and Himiko opened the back doors to collapse on the floor...

"...thanks? I guess?" Saionji said. "You guys unexpectedly saved me from my sudden traitors."

"So, willing to put on handcuffs for your saviours?" Rantarou asked.

"Not interested," Saionji retorted, before running the other way. The other passengers were too disoriented and nauseous from Rantarou's driving to be able to chase her.

Korekiyo started making that message, tapping out a code so that, if Kokichi and Kaede had managed to hide, his voice wouldn't alert Saionji.

"Let's get looking for them," Rantarou said.

"Can... can you hold on? The world's still spinning..." Angie replied.

* * *

"Why is there a hole in the ground?!" Kiibo declared, only saving himself from falling by using his jetpack. Gonta, however, was beyond saving. "That is so irresponsible!" 

"Kiibo-kun should go ahead! Gonta-kun can search for the two of them down here!"

"Absolutely not—"

Kiibo was cut off by Saionji suddenly sending a pinwheel kick at his skull. 

"Out! Of! My! Fucking! Way!" she screamed at the robot, sending stabs from her bladed fan at him.

"Ack!" Kiibo hurriedly parried her strikes with his sword arm, the longer range working against him in such close quarters!

"Kiibo-kun!" Gonta jumped up, climbing his way to the higher level!

He grabbed the edge of the broken floor and pulled, but his sheer strength—

\- caused the floor to crack apart!

Kiibo jumped into the air, jetpack activating, to avoid getting destabilized. Saionji took the chance and broke away, jumping down just as Gonta made his way up!

"After her!" Kiibo screamed, flying down the crater.

"Huh!? But Gonta just came from there...?!"

Gonta sighed, jumping back down. They couldn't find her in the hallway, nor behind the doors they opened, coming to the conclusion that her light feet must have carried her off very quickly while they were talking.

Kiibo noticed the buzzes and clicks of a code being sent through his earpiece, automatically translating the message.

"The others are upstairs, but they can't find Kokichi-kun or Kaede-san," Kiibo told Gonta. "We can get them down here and have two teams search for Saionji and the other two!"

"Sounds good!"

When they met up and split up...

A few seconds after they went off together, Saionji climbed her way of of her hiding place under the rubble, cleaning herself off with a distinctly unsatisfied look.

_'So, they have to be around this floor somewhere... but, since he's hiding from me, he's not going to be easy to find.'_

Saionji hummed, flipping through her memories as she snuck through the halls.

And then she remembered a conversation she had, once.

 _'How'd you all meet?'_ she had asked, making a pigtailed girl laugh (Saionji had long forgotten most of their names.)

_'Well, we all met in the back room of this restaurant, and we were not at all supposed to be there...'_

"This floor's got the kitchen," Saionji muttered to herself with a grin. "If I got this right... then I win!"

She pushed her way through the kitchen's double doors, walking past the door to the freezer to find Kokichi sitting on the kitchen island. The rectangular room had counters lined up against the walls around him, cupboards underneath, a fridge, a stove, and a door to the pantry.

"Found you~!" Saionji said happily.

"Maybe, but you won't find her," he replied with an easy grin.

"Oh, come on," Saionji said with a sigh, cutting through a cupboard with her fan. "How many places can you hide a girl in a kitchen?"

"Hmm, is that a trick question?" 

Saionji pouted as she carved her way into another cupboard.

"Let's see... then she's gotta be here, right!?" she guessed as she opened the pantry door.

She was met with an empty room...

Saionji froze.

"You wouldn't dare stuff your most beloved person into somewhere she might get hurt..." she muttered under her breath, beginning to pace around him. "So which cupboard...?"

"Hey, seriously, it's annoying when you act like you know me so well," Kokichi called out, stopping her just before she passed by the fridge. 

"But I _do_ know you, Ouma Kokichi," the dancer declared haughtily. "You're a liar, and proud of it, but you can't stop lying, even when you want to. You can't change that."

She stepped closer with a grin, thinking she could make him cough up the location with enough persuasion.

"You've always been the neglected child, so you just _love_ having people pay attention to you. It's almost a disorder, really."

Closer, and closer still...

"Isn't it sad? You want nothing more than to be close to people, but your very existence drives them away. No one will help you, so you might as well give up, you know?" she asked with an innocent smile. "You're just working so hard for people who could never appreciate you."

She moved to cup his cheek with a smug smirk.

"The only one who could love such a terrible liar is someone as despair-loving as me. So help me."

"Shut the hell up," Kokichi replied, slapping her hand away.

Saionji's expression became blank.

"Hmm? You want to deny the truth?" 

"Maybe some parts of it were true, maybe the entire thing," Kokichi admitted, "but not anymore."

Saionji paused just the slightest bit, hiding her expression with her fan.

"Maybe if you told me this a year ago, right after you destroyed DICE, I would have listened. I would have despaired. I probably would have joined you. But now?" 

He grinned, winking as he pulled out an official-looking Future Foundation communicator.

"Now, there are people I can rely on."

Saionji's face turned blank.

"What are you trying to say?" Saionji asked, eyes turning cold.

"You won't find her, ever!" Kokichi exclaimed, gesturing to the object in his hand. "I mean, I already met up with my friends and got her away on a life raft, you know?"

Saionji snapped her fan shut, cutting his communicator in half! The halves clattered to the floor...

"Don't fuck with me!" Saionji screamed in a bloody rage, grabbing him by the scarf! "You, you wouldn't! You _can't!"_

"If you expected me to be the same person as I was when you betrayed me, you're wrong," Kokichi replied with an easy smile. "I've found friends I can trust with my life. I've found a woman I'm willing to lay down my life _for."_

He began to laugh in her face.

"No matter what you do to me, she's already far away from here!" he exclaimed. 

"No, no, you _have to be lying!_ " Saionji shrieked. "There's no way...! You would never be so selfless! You wouldn't...!"

"Wanna bet?" Kokichi asked, pulling out another grenade from his suit jacket. "I don't have any more electrobombs left, so you know this isn't just a bluff."

Saionji paled, before turning to escape...!

Kokichi grabbed her from behind, pulling her into a one-armed hug! Her fan fell to the floor...!

"Come on, then!" Kokichi cried out, his grip around her neck so tight, it was suffocating. "We're _friends_ , right? You should be happy we get to die together. Shouldn't you be proud that I've grown into the kind of guy who can sacrifice himself for others?"

"You...! Hate killers!" Saionji forced the words out in a gasp.

"That was a lie," Kokichi replied. "I'm willing to do what needs to be done."

Saionji let out more choked gasps as she clawed at the arm around her neck, eyes falling on the freezer door, the kitchen's double doors, her rapidly fading chances of escape...!

...?

The normally frosty freezer door... was surrounded by melted water?

"Eyes on me," Kokichi said, forcing her chin up.

Saionji's eyes widened as she realized it.

If it was melted, the freezer wasn't running. He stopped her from passing by the fridge, which would have had a cold aura. Then...

"Isn't she—" 

Saionji's guess was cut off by Kokichi stuffing the grenade into her mouth, then he pulled the pin.

"How rude... after I went through so much effort to choke you into unconsciousness so you at least wouldn't have to hurt... well, it's not like I can exactly pull out my dart gun and shoot you when you're this close and thrashing around _this_ much..."

Saionji headbutted him, forcing him to let go!

She spat out the grenade, desperately grabbing at her bladed fan...!

"Like hell you're going to kill me!" Saionji screamed.

Kokichi smiled as she moved to kill him with her fan. That just meant she believed **every single one of his lies**.

"Get the hell away from him!"

The scream came out as the freezer door slammed open against the wall!

Saionji flinched at the sound, turning to find—

A sleeping dart stabbing into her shoulder, her senses so dulled by the strangulation and panic that she couldn't dodge at all...

"Am I late?" Kaede asked desperately, breath coming out in pants as Saionji collapsed to the floor.

"I love you so much," Kokichi replied with a relieved grin, immediately going to hug his girlfriend.

The others entered to find them hugging each other while sitting on the floor, Saionji tied up with her own obi and an apron, and a toy grenade laying on the floor.

"God...if you two were going to be fine on your own, then couldn't we have just _avoided_ Rantarou's driving?" Himiko groaned.

"Ignoring that, I'm glad you're alright," Rantarou said with a strained smile. 

"You _crashed the van into a wall!_ " Angie screamed.

"...how are we gonna get back...?" Kaede asked.

"Does anyone know how to pilot a boat?" Kokichi asked desperately.

"...I'll call for help from the Future Foundation," Korekiyo said with a sigh.

"I'll go and keep a lookout for them, then," Kiibo told the others.

"Oh, but," Gonta spoke up, "the van's distress signals reached the Future Foundation already."

"Eh? How do you know that?" Kaede asked.

Just then, a loud bang rocked the cruise ship, the sound of drills reaching their ears!

 ** _" LET THEM GO, YOU BIG MEANIES!"_** Monaka's voice screamed, amplified and mechanized by her robot.

"Gonta saw the flying robots and the airship through the window," Gonta stated simply.

"...they're going to destroy everything," Kokichi said flatly.

"Let's not do that!" Kaede screamed, having just woken up and yet was already running towards the source of the drilling.

* * *

"Thank you for coming to rescue us..." Kaede said tiredly.

The kids had a vice grip they saved for when they were deathly concerned, it seemed...

She let out a sigh as Kokichi pat the kids on the head. Angie and Gonta were doting on them, while Himiko took a nap, relieved that Kaito the reliable pilot was the one directing their trip home.

"Need water?" Shuuichi asked, offering her a bottle of water.

"Yeah..." Kaede took the drink and opened it, before realizing something. "Did we get another kid? There was another kid. The one with grey eyes."

"...Kaede-san? That was Jataro-kun?" Shuuichi replied.

"But he had a face."

"Yes, because he had a face under the mask," Shuuichi stated. "You identified him by name while we were prepping for the assault on the hospital."

"Monaka-chan was clinging to my neck so I couldn't see anything," Kaede said. "I identified everyone by their voice."

"And you... didn't realize it was him by the voice this time?"

"They were all screaming at the same time! I can't pick out five voices at the same time!"

"I don't understand, but okay...?"

That was the kind of mood everyone was in as they returned to the Future Foundation; too tired and exasperated to realize that they not only managed to capture three despairs in one day, but that they had captured every despair aside from Kamukura, all before Tenko's birthday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> 
> 
>   
> 
> 
>   
> 
> 
>   
> 
> 
>   
> 
> 
>   
> 
> 
> i cant do relationship charts for the kids, because tsumugi doesnt know they exist and also bc everything would just be some variation on "cute"/"im sorry you were manipulated"/"i wanna protect you", with a few exceptions like:  
>  ouma -> monaka: don't worry. you won't be abandoned.  
>  kaede -> monaka: please call me big sis too, okay?  
>  rantarou -> kotoko: sorry if i ever accidentally use you like a replacement.  
>  korekiyo -> jataro: don't be silly. you're still alive because you're still human.  
>  kaito -> masaru: lil sidekick!  
>  shuuichi -> nagisa: don't push yourself too hard, you're still a child!  
>  also 
> 
> WITH HER HAT ON, HIMIKO IS THE TALLEST


	38. Chapter 38

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <https://rainbow-unicorn-banzai-party.tumblr.com/post/186822684330/compilation-post-part-1>  
> <https://rainbow-unicorn-banzai-party.tumblr.com/post/186822685335/compilation-post-part-2>  
> just so you know, this chapter is singlehandedly responsible for me raising the fics rating.  
> i dont want to address dr3 and the weirdass decision to expel literally everyone involved but komaeda so lets pretend that never happened.

"Congratulations. You're pregnant," Kimura said.

"Eh."

Those were absolutely not the words Kaede thought she would hear when the entire group went in for a checkup.

 _"Some bruising,"_ sure, _"the wound on your forehead will most likely scar,"_ okay, but _"you're pregnant?"_

She didn't even do a pregnancy test! Not that she remembered! Did they have advanced pregnancy tests or something?! 

"Wait. Since when—" Kaede's voice was cut off when Miu and the kids screamed.

Oh, right, Kaede had forgotten that the entire group was in a waiting room together. 

"Gekkogahara-san will explain the regulations in this scenario throughly," Kimura stated. "She's waiting in the other room, so I'll lead you two there."

"Alright, let's get to it, then!" Kokichi declared, smiling as he stood up.

Kaede instantly realized something was off, because that was not how Kokichi would have reacted to learning he was going to become a father.

As Kaede worried over the possibility that she might have to sit their last mission out, she completely failed to remember that this was not the first time Gekkogahara Miaya had given them information on being a parent, and that the last time the therapist did it, it was a guise to cover up that she was passing them sensitive information.

So she was completely taken off-guard when Miaya set her robovoice to keep running, lifting up an artist's sketchbook with the words, _'we have five minutes until this prerecorded speech runs out. The camera is behind me, but it can see you two, so at least act like worried parents-to-be,'_ written on it.

Kokichi didn't seem surprised at all, but he took Kaede's hand. Her expression of confusion seemed anxious enough to pass as a worried parent, while Kokichi seemed to be acting like he was trying too hard to be calm.

And then Miaya shut her eyes in what seemed like an innocent smile plus scarf, flipping over another page.

_'By the way, Akamatsu-san isn't pregnant, but I needed an excuse to talk to you. If you want to explain this to everyone, I personally suggest the tactic of making the cover story exactly what happened, just with a delay.'_

Wait. Didn't that mean...

Kokichi squeezed her hand to keep her from actually asking, reminding her that they were supposed to be pretending to listen to a boring speech about all the Future Foundation's rules about maternity leave. Not reacting to a sketchbook that didn't exist in the Future Foundation's footage.

 _'Munakata-san has his suspicions about the Neo World Program,'_ Miaya told them, then flipping another page. _'He won't act until you've gotten the most dangerous one under control, but you need to know this facing forward.'_

"Now, onto accessibility services," the bunny on Miaya's screen started off, pulling up a chart.

Kaede actually got distracted by that for a second, so Kokichi had to tilt her head up to make her pay attention to the sketchbook again.

_'Keep an eye out for him. Even after you've won over Kamukura, don't think it's over.'_

She smiled behind her scarf once again as she turned the page.

 _'That's all! Good luck!'_ a hastily-doodled Miaya exclaimed on the page, surrounded by flowers and stars.

"Thank you for listening!" the bunny declared. "Please let me know if you have any questions!"

"I have a question," Kokichi spoke up. "Was there really no better way to do this than an announcement _to our entire group_ that this was a thing."

Miaya paused, then, typing with one hand and writing with the other, made a reply.

"I apologize for the inconvenience and trouble this has caused...."

_'Personally, it's funnier this way.'_

Being unable to react to the written words, the pair just had reassure her that it was okay, despite Miaya grinning from ear-to-ear.

With a polite farewell, Miaya sent them off to deal with a mess she had created.

Thankfully, when they came back to the waiting room, there was another mess going on to take most of the attention off of them.

Miu was holding a pastry bag, the five kids glaring at Andou and Kimura as the others looked on.

"Why does only Big Sis Miu get candy?!" Kotoko demanded. "This is unfair!"

The rest of the kids backed her up, all complaining loudly.

"I already told you brats, she needs a way to fight off the addictive drug, so these sweets are _drugged_! D-R-U-G-G-E-D!"

"We're using her to test ways of getting Tsumiki's patients off of her drugs..." Kimura added hesitantly. "Please understand... we have to test the speed at which to lower the dose, along with a presentation more appealing than plain drugs..."

"C'mon... it's just medicine, but in a cute sweet package, it probably tastes terrible," Miu urged the kids.

"But she's the SHSL Confectioner," Kokichi pointed out, entirely to cause chaos. "There's no way she could."

"They would taste amazing!" Monaka screamed.

Kokichi grinned at the flames he fanned, only for him to realize Kaede was in an odd pose.

"...sweets...!" Kaede whispered, almost drooling. She had her hands cupping her cheeks, her eyes sparkling...!

"Hey! No! Don't!" Kokichi yelled instantly. "Didn't you hear them say they were drugged?!"

"You know, pregnant women shouldn't take drugs..." Rantarou pointed out.

"Oh god, you're pregnant?!" Andou gasped in shock. "Give me back those macarons, you can't have any!"

"Not me! Kaede!" Miu corrected, pointing at Kaede, who flinched at the sudden attention on her.

"Wait, wait no-"

"Um—" Kimura couldn't even say that it was a lie.

"Don't worry! I'll make congratulatory sweets for all of you! Kimura, you need to help me make it good for their health! Come on!"

Saying that, Andou dragged Kimura behind her... Kimura couldn't even say no to her childhood friend.

"But it was a false positive..." Kokichi muttered, just loud enough for the others to hear.

"What," Monaka said flatly.

"A-are you serious?!" Nagisa demanded.

"But... the baby..." Jataro mumbled.

"Ah, let's talk about it at home, 'kay?" Kokichi replied with a grin.

"Stop raising our hopes and dashing them, Big Bro Kokichi, you big jerk!" Masaru screamed. "I want a little brother!"

"Take responsibility!" Kotoko wailed. "Take responsibility for our crushed hopes and dreams and just--"

* * *

"It... it was a message from Gekkogahara-san...?" Shuuichi summarized. "She _made us think Kaede-san was pregnant_ for this?"

"Very rude, really," Kirumi noted. "I was in the middle of picking out blankets in my head..."

"But, you guys really shouldn't have jumped to believe it," Rantarou pointed out.

"I wanted to believe it..." Kotoko sobbed.

"Do you really think for a second that Kokichi-kun of all people would hear that his girlfriend is pregnant and _not_ immediately rush to swaddle her in protective gear," Rantarou asked flatly.

"Hey, what do you mean, _'of all people'_?! Ran-chan, what does that mean?!"

"Yeah, he would make her wear a helmet all the time..." Maki stated.

"Why are you just agreeing with this, Maki-chan?!"

"Everything would be babyproof long before the baby ever came," Miu added.

"Miu-chan?!"

" _'No motorcycle stunts for you, missy, you've got a baby in you!'_ " Kaito declared in an exaggerated imitation of Kokichi's voice.

"Shouldn't that be Kirumi-chan?!" Kaede demanded.

"It's your fault she got on a motorcycle in the first place," Ryoma retorted, shutting her down instantly.

"Gonta would immediately help protect Kaede-san, don't worry!"

"Don't worry, Tenko will protect Kaede-san from this little gremlin and keep her from ever getting pregnant in the first place!" 

"What are you gonna do, hide out in their room?" Himiko asked bluntly. 

"Don't do that!" Kotoko ordered. "No! I want a little sister!"

"Let us pray to Atua for the chance..."

"I must admit... I'm curious about what a real life human baby looks like..." Kiibo admitted.

"Do you want an illustrated book?" Korekiyo asked, offering a novel to the robot.

"Why is that child on the cover covered in blood," Shuuichi demanded flatly. "Why is this a thing you carry with you."

"Don't answer that, actually," Miu interjected. "The kids are listening."

"I want to know," Nagisa said. "Don't just treat me like a child."

"You're like seven," Miu retorted.

"I'm twelve!"

"...you're twelve?" Kokichi asked in shock.

"How young did you people think we are?!" Nagisa demanded.

"I forgot how old I am, honestly," Kaede admitted. "We've spent like a year without a calendar."

"Hm..." Tenko checked her handbook. "Woah... this date is three years since Tenko entered high school! Tenko's already eighteen!"

"Gonta too...!"

"And your birthday's coming up, so you're gonna be nineteen soon," Ryoma noted.

"...aren't you two the youngest, actually?" Rantarou asked.

"Eh?! No way! Gonta's huge! How can this guy be the youngest!?" Miu demanded, only for everyone to work together to figure out how old they all were.

...

"So... the order is..." Kaede said, staring down at the results...

"Maki-chan, Kaede, Kaito-chan, Angie-chan, Rumi-chan, me, Ryoma-chan, Kiyo-chan, Shuu-chan, Ran-chan, Kiibo-chan, Miu-chan, Miko-chan, Tenko-chan, and Gonta-chan..." Kokichi read.

"Then for the kids, Jataro-kun's the oldest, then Monaka-chan, then Masaru-kun, then Kotoko-chan, then Nagisa-kun..." Shuuichi added.

"So Nagisa's the baby of the bunch!" Kotoko screamed.

"I'm still more mature than all of you!"

"Baby! Baby!" Masaru cheered.

"Stop it!" Miu ordered, pointing at the two. "Don't be jerks!"

"Sorry, mom..." the two said instantly.

"Mom!?"

Kirumi began to snicker behind a gloved hand.

"You have a birthday?" Ryoma asked Kiibo.

"Yes! It was the date I was created!"

"I'm almost twenty..." Maki realized. "I'm turning twenty next month and I didn't even notice..."

"That year of working as normal Future Foundation employees sure messed with us," Kaito noted.

"Then! Tenko wants to share her birthday celebration with everyone! The year of birthdays, holidays, and celebrations we missed, we're going to have them all!" Tenko declared.

"Does this mean that we get fifteen birthday cakes--"

"No," Rantarou said, shooting Monaka's question down in an instant. "It's going to be one _big_ cake. Because we cannot possibly overwork Andou-san, and also because all of you would go nuts with that much cake."

"Will it be decorated...?" Jataro asked.

"Let's plan it out then!" Tenko cheered.

The group went to plan out a brief celebration, set for Tenko's birthday in five days.

* * *

"Wooow, that took a _while_ ," Kokichi grumbled as he and Kaede returned to their room. He just flumped on the bed, laying all over the mattress.

"You're not gonna change?" Kaede asked.

Kokichi didn't reply.

Kaede stared at him, until he sat up on the edge of the bed.

"Come here," he told her.

Kaede went over to him, sitting next to him, and he began untying her tie for her.

"I'm exhausted," Kokichi admitted, setting the tie aside. "Capturing Mioda, Tsumiki, and Saionji in one day..." his eyes went to the wound on her forehead. "Almost lost you. Twice."

"Kokichi?"

"You keep giving me heart attacks, you know?" Kokichi told her. "I just want to hold you down so you can't ever do anything like that again..."

"What are you saying...?" Kaede asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Kokichi retorted.

He pushed Kaede down on the bed...! His knees beside her waist, his hands pinning her wrists against the bed...!

"I'm saying that you won't be able to walk after this, let alone get yourself killed."

"A-ah...!" Kaede"s face went red.

Kokichi began to move...

....

.......

...............

.................................

"Did you really think I'd say that, idiot?!" Kokichi demanded, flicking Kaede on the nose.

"Huh?!" Kaede's hand immediately went to defend her nose.

"You already throw yourself into danger to protect everyone all the time, how would giving you sex for surviving help?!" Kokichi huffed, sitting crosslegged on the bed beside Kaede's stomach. "Wouldn't that just encourage you?!"

"I don't enjoy danger or anything!" Kaede protested as she sat up. "And besides, aren't _you_ the one who didn't even bother telling me he was kidnapped?!"

She pointed at him with a huff, going, "hypocrite!"

"Damn right I'm a hypocrite!" Kokichi shot back. "I'm stubborn and selfish and I'm not above putting you on a leash to keep you out of trouble!"

Kokichi pointed back at her, yelling, "but at least I _learned_ that you and everyone else would care if I got hurt! You just throw yourself in danger without a second thought to our feelings!"

"I..." Kaede deflated... "I didn't... well, I just... _don't think_ , sometimes..."

Kokichi went silent.

"You keep having to cover for my stupid impulsive tendencies... sorry."

"Then carve it into your head!" Kokichi ordered. "If you remember, even for a moment that, _'my boyfriend will actually murder me if I do something stupid,'_ then it's okay! I won't fall for fake tears, you know!"

"I'm not faking!" Kaede declared, eyes cold.

"Prove it."

That was all Kaede needed to kiss him.

"...eh— huh?!" Kokichi gasped as Kaede pulled away, his face bright red.

"I'll do everything in my power to make sure we're never torn apart. I swear with all my body and soul," Kaede promised with a smile. "Is that enough?"

"Jury's still out," Kokichi replied with a huff.

Kaede just laughed.

"Do I have to present more evidence?"

"Nope. You're guilty," Kokichi decided. "Your punishment's a life sentence by my side."

"I'll do my best," Kaede answered.

* * *

**Naegi Makoto:** Amazing! You captured all but one of the despairs and it hasn't even been a week into the new year! 

**Naegi Makoto:** For capturing **Mioda Ibuki** , **Tsumiki Mikan** , and **Saionji Hiyoko** , you get this.

**Received Bounty x 3.**

**Naegi Makoto:** The head of the transportation division is so happy, he's sending you some supplies he recovered!

**Received Piano Keyboard.**

**Received Indigo Hakama.**

**Received Ladybug Brooch.**

**Received 16 other items.**

**Naegi Makoto:** It's like they were picked out just for you guys! It's incredible!

 **Naegi Makoto:** Huh...? Ouma-kun doesn't have a gift? Maybe I dropped it or something... I'll ask him about it later.

 **Naegi Makoto:** Also, in preparation for Kamukura, they're giving you all Future Foundation handcuffs.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Wouldn't this have been more helpful earlier? We've been tying up the despairs with stuff we found at the scene or Korekiyo-kun's ropes.

 **Naegi Makoto:**...

 **Naegi Makoto:** I'll be honest. The higher-ups expected you to die against the despairs at first. They only gave you guys weapons and vehicles to make Togami-kun shut up.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Wow.

 **Naegi Makoto:** But that's in the past! Now, you're heroes! 

**Naegi Makoto:** Heroes risking your lives to help the world... 

**Naegi Makoto:** I wanted to give you the good news first. You've fought so hard, so you deserve a break sometimes.

 **Naegi Makoto:** Here. It was lodged into your front door.

**Received Letter from Kamukura.**

* * *

_'In three days, I'll test your unpredictability.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ITS A LIE LOL  
> (or maybe it wasnt)  
> at least the love trial animatic oumasai haunting was good for something!


	39. Chapter 39

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ****  
>  _THE OPPOSITE OF THE OUMASAI LOVE TRIAL ANIMATIC IS AN OUMAEDE ANIMATIC SET TO[KISS THE VILLAIN](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uV_czuhdjc&app=desktop)_   
> 

**First Day**

* * *

"Tsumugi-chan, please help, how do we beat—"

"You don't," Tsumugi replied, not even raising her head from the manga she was reading. "There is no way you can beat Kamukura head on, and he can see through cheating."

"But, he sent us a message telling us to be unpredictable!" Kaede exclaimed, Kokichi trailing behind her.

"Then just do what you normally do," Tsumugi said simply.

"I don't get it?! What is this guy?! He's kind of just unknown and terrifying?!" Kaede asked in a panic.

"Kamukura Izuru. Super High School Level Hope," Tsumugi started to list off, "Has every talent in Hope's Peak's history before our class. Enoshima lured him into despair by promising it was interesting, but he was always as bored of despair as he was of everything else."

"The guy with all the talent in the world can't even enjoy 'em, huh?" Kokichi asked.

"I suppose so," Tsumugi said. "Still, the fact is, he thinks there's a chance you could be interesting. He has to, if he's bothering with dealing with you at all."

"What could we possibly offer to make him think we're interesting...?" Kaede wondered. "A good fight?"

"Or maybe a chance to interest him..." Kokichi mumbled under his breath.

"I don't know him that well," Tsumugi stated. "He never bothered to talk to me. All I know about him that isn't his name or talent is that Enoshima used to call him _'my fellow amnesiac.'_ "

"He doesn't remember his past?" Kaede asked.

"I don't know for sure," Tsumugi stressed. "It could have been Enoshima messing around. But she always made sure there was a grain of truth to her cruel jokes."

"Then he might be interested in **that**..." Kokichi whispered to Kaede.

Kaede's eyes widened, before she smiled at Tsumugi.

"Thank you for your help, Tsumugi-chan!" 

"...ah... you remembered....!!!"

Kaede started to feel uncomfortable...

"Anyways, Tamago-chan, we'll call you if we need outfits," Kokichi interjected.

"It's Tsumugi!"

"I don't care," Kokichi retorted. "If your name is worth remembering every single day, act like it. Don't act like it's such a big deal, Tora-chan."

With that, he dragged Kaede out of the room, leaving Tsumugi to ruminate in silence.

* * *

**Saihara Shuuichi:** He didn't specify a location, so he's probably going to find us.

 **Hoshi Ryoma:** That means we can pick our battlefield.

 **Shinguuji Korekiyo:** Tsumiki's hospital and the area surrounding the coast has been turned into ruins. The surrounding area's been evacuated from the damage.

 **Angie Yonaga:** So we can wreck it as much as we want!

 **Amami Rantarou:** We can place the **snipers** in this tall building over here, supporting the bulk of the action near the shore... 

**Toujou Kirumi:** We can also place traps as we please. The more the better.

 **Momota Kaito:** But if they're ground-based traps, then we're limited to people who can **attack from a distance** , **can fly** , or **both**.

 **Iruma Miu:** Then, we either focus exclusively on those kinds of attackers or lure him away from the battleground where we have an advantage...

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Or we could leave the melee attackers defending our snipers. I wouldn't say it's impossible for him to just scale the building to get to them.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** So a buddy system!

 **Towa Monaka:** Can he really climb a building...?

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** Our leader gave us the records for every student that has ever attended Hope's Peak. Ignoring the lucky students, fifteen students in a class over seventy-eight years, with one year having two classes...

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** Assuming that every talent is unique, he has around **one thousand one hundred and eighty-five talents**.

 **Momota Kaito:** What...?!

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** I looked through the list as well, so... his abilities include parkour, rock-climbing, pole vaulting, and gymnastics...

 **Ouma Kokichi:** So basically... he could climb a building from the outside. Maybe even while being shot at.

 **Harukawa Maki:** Seriously, how powerful did they make him...?

 **Shinguuji Korekiyo:** Is there anything he wouldn't be able to do...?

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** Well, he was, um, do I just say _'created'_...? Let's just say that he was _'born'_ before our class ever came to Hope's Peak.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Meaning that, his wealth of abilities doesn't include **our** talents.

 **Kiibo:** But, compared to all he can do...

 **Daimon Masaru:** If it's this guy, then our robots won't be overkill at all!

 **Shingetsu Nagisa:** Only because we're replacing the projectile weapons with sleeping gas bombs...

 **Utsugi Kotoko:**...

 **Kemuri Jataro:** Kotoko-chan...? Are you okay?

 **Utsugi Kotoko:** Urgh.... I'm sad I can't bring my robot, but there's no way a giant axe can end well when you're trying to bring him in alive...!

 **Towa Monaka:** Then, help Monaka with her robot! It's too complicated to work alone!

 **Utsugi Kotoko:** Okay!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** So, we're going to make traps in the battlefield, have Shuuichi-kun and Maki-chan sniping him from another building, Tenko-chan and Gonta-kun and Kaito-kun protecting them, Kiibo-kun and Himiko-chan attacking from the air, along with the kids' robots, with the rest of us providing support...

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Are we good on the plan?

 **Everyone:** Yes!

 **Kiibo:** Then, let's work together for the initial assault!

 **Harukawa Maki:** Got it.

 **Chabashira Tenko:** Tenko will do her best!

 **Gokuhara Gonta:** Gonta too!

 **Yumeno Himiko:** I'll play my part!

 **Iruma Miu:** Heh...! We'll beat him into the ground!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** _An aggressive strike, just like we're used to... is this really something that can be considered **unpredictable**...?_

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** _Unpredictable... what would be unpredictable...? To a guy like that..._

* * *

**Second Day**

* * *

_Being slashed apart by Monokuma bots, crashing a motorcycle, falling from a great height, dragged into Hanamura's group, being shot by her own allies in an Enoshima disguise, a guitar smashing her head in, being broken in captivity and turned into a despair, executed....!_

Kokichi woke with a start, his breathing rapid...

He was holding Kaede, pressing his ear to the crook of her neck. Kokichi could feel her heartbeat against his ear...

"Kokichi...? You okay?" Kaede asked.

"Yeah. Sorry. For waking you up. Again," Kokichi replied.

She hugged him tighter.

"Nightmare?"

"...yeah."

"I'm here. I'm right here, I promise."

"Stay here. Please," Kokichi begged. "Don't go somewhere I can't go with you."

"I won't," Kaede swore. "I promised to stay with you, didn't I?"

"But you're a selfless _idiot_ ," Kokichi replied. 

Kaede paused.

"I am," she admitted, "but... there's people who will care if I get hurt. You and all our friends... all the people depending on us to capture the last despair..."

Kokichi sighed.

"If you die, I'll kill you," he promised.

"I know," Kaede said, before brushing his bangs away and pressing a kiss to his forehead. "I won't die, and neither will you. We're going to survive this."

Kokichi let out another sigh.

"Seriously... can't we just grab another Enoshima disguise and bullshit him into giving up..." he complained. "That would be so much less dangerous..."

"Oh my god that's it," Kaede said suddenly, her voice clear and awake. "That's the most unpredictable outcome."

"What?" 

Kaede moved to get up, but Kokichi was still holding her. 

"Wait, hold on, Kaede, what are you--?"

"We need to see Tsumugi!" 

"At five in the morning?!" he demanded.

"We'll take a nap later!" Kaede retorted. "Kirumi-chan can make us both coffee!"

"Kaede, what the _hell_ is your idea," he asked flatly, preventing her from moving. 

She was so filled with energy at her realization that she just _had_ to move, so she wound up patting his head as she spoke.

"We need to be unpredictable. That's how we convince him to give up. Not just blasting him into submission."

"Please just slow down. I have no idea what you're trying to say."

Kaede took in a deep breath before explaining...

* * *

**Later in the morning, Kirumi makes coffee for the two of them, when the doorbell rings... they had gotten a message from Ruruka the night before on their communicators, so they know it's her.**

**Kaede goes to get it!**

**Andou Ruruka:** Morning! Here are your sweets!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Oh, thank you--

 **Andou Ruruka:** Remember! It's still not okay for a pregnant lady to eat too many! 

**Akamatsu Kaede:**...

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Oh... they look delicious!

 **Andou Ruruka:** Of course! I'm the best at what I do, just ask Yoi-chan!

 **Andou Ruruka:** But still... I made these pastries wishing for all of you to be alright. 

**Andou Ruruka:** Do you best, but remember to rely on the others! In fact, make them do your work if you have to! A pregnant lady shouldn't work too hard!

 **Akamatsu Kaede** **:** Um... yeah..........

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Thanks for the concern!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Eh?! When did you--?!

 **Andou Ruruka:** Well, just so you know, I'm not giving up our place as the Future Foundation's best couple, so keep that in mind!

**Ruruka leaves.**

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Sweets...

 **Toujou Kirumi:** Oh, shall I prepare tea, then? I'll pair them nicely.

**Kaede stares, before getting an idea.**

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Don't we have curtains?! Why don't we have curtains in the common room, we should--

 **Toujou Kirumi:** I used them to make a glider for Himiko-san.

 **Ouma Kokichi:**...what do you need curtains for?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** To sew them together and cut them in a circle. You know, around the size needed to cover a table. To cover a table.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Kaede. That's a tablecloth.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** A tablecloth! We need a tablecloth!

 **Toujou Kirumi:**...did you get enough sleep last night?

 **Ouma Kokichi:** No... it's my fault. I kept her up.

 **Toujou Kirumi:** ...

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Kokichi. Please invest in a mind-to-mouth filter one day.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** No.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Okay, what else... we need...

 **Ouma Kokichi:** You never explained why we needed a tablecloth in the first place.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** We need Rantarou-kun. Come on.

**Kaede gives Kirumi the bag of sweets. There's enough for everyone and then some.**

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Please make sure there's some left over by the time we hit Kamukura!

 **Toujou Kirumi:** If... if that's what you wish?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Come on, Kokichi!

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Hello?! You haven't explained literally any of your thought process?!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** I'm running on adrenaline and half-baked ideas, I don't have time to explain!

**Kaede drags Kokichi into helping her wake Rantarou up...**

**Toujou Kirumi:** What's going on? Did I use the wrong coffee blend?

* * *

**Amami Rantarou:** So, um, why am I here?

 **Ouma Kokichi:** That's what I want to know.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** Stop moving. I need to grab your measurements.

**They're all in Tsumugi's cell. Tsumugi's measuring Rantarou for an outfit...**

**Akamatsu Kaede:** In two days, if that's possible. Along with another Enoshima wig, if you can.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** I can finish the outfit by tonight. There's another Enoshima wig under the bed.

 **Ouma Kokichi:**...why?

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** This crazy woman came into my cell and apologized for losing the wig in the battle a few days ago... so I made another one, just in case.

 **Amami Rantarou:** Huh. So you really do like Kaede-san.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** I-it's not like _that's_ the reason! Shut up! I'll stab you!

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Oh, so that's why your name is Tsundere-chan.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** It's Tsumugi!

 **Amami Rantarou:** Ow!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Be careful with the measuring tape!

**Received Enoshima Wig.**

**Received Rantarou's Outfit.**

* * *

**Kaede hands brightly-coloured plastic to Angie and Jataro.**

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Please do your best to make flowers out of this. I already got a vase.

 **Angie Yonaga:**...okay. Can Angie ask why?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** To win over Kamukura.

 **Kemuri Jataro:** Makes sense.

**They start working, so Kaede leaves them be.**

**Kaede pats Kokichi on the head as she keeps thinking...**

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Did we get the tablecloth?

 **Ouma Kokichi:** _Yes_ , Kaede. We got the tablecloth. It's with Kaito-chan in the van, with the table and chairs you insisted on bringing.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** But did we get the motorcycles?

 **Ouma Kokichi:** What do we need motorcycles for?!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** We can't all fit in the van if there's a table in it!

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Then why did you bring a table?!

**Received Flowers in a Vase.**

* * *

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Take this.

 **Iruma Miu:** Eh?!

**Kaede shoves one of Angie's sketchbooks at Miu.**

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Put every single design sketch you have into it. Every single blueprint, everything.

 **Iruma Miu:** Does this include the ones Kokichi makes?

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Well, I guess I don't mind...? 

**Ouma Kokichi:** Or I wouldn't mind, if I knew _why_!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Yes, please, include those ones too. 

**Kaede pats Kokichi on the head...**

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Please trust me.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Do you even know what you're doing.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Absolutely not.

 **Iruma Miu:** Somehow, that's the answer every time someone asks that...

**Received Inventor's Sketchbook.**

* * *

**Hoshi Ryoma:** What d'you need? I'll help.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Tennis.

 **Hoshi Ryoma:** I'll bring my racket.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** You're remarkably okay with this.

 **Hoshi Ryoma:** It's Kaede. Her ideas tend to work out.

 **Hoshi Ryoma:** It's okay to have a bit more faith in her, y'know.

 **Ouma Kokichi:**...yeah, I know.

**Received Tennis Player's Racket!**

* * *

**Shinguuji Korekiyo:** So, will we get an explanation--

 **Ouma Kokichi:** No.

 **Kiibo:** But I don't know what--

 **Ouma Kokichi:** You just don't get an explanation. It's fine.

 **Kiibo:** Do you know what she's--

 **Ouma Kokichi:** No.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Okay, this is good. Just take this and fill it with everything you know.

**Kaede gave Korekiyo a notebook she got from Kyouko...**

**Shinguuji Korekiyo:** Okay?

**Kaede turns to Kiibo.**

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Please keep being yourself.

 **Kiibo:** Why would I be anyone else...?!

**Received Anthropologist's Notebook.**

**Received Kiibo.**

**Ouma Kokichi:** Wait, he counts as a--?

* * *

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Please talk about stars.

 **Momota Kaito:** I don't mind at all but is now really the time? Aren't we pressed for time with Kamukura and all?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** It's because it's Kamukura that we need it.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Just do it into this tape recorder so we can play it back.

 **Momota Kaito:** Okay?

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Don't worry. She's not explaining to anyone else either.

**Received Astronaut's Recording.**

* * *

**Ouma Kokichi:** What do you mean you want to bring the training dummies?!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** How else is Tenko-chan supposed to show off her skills?!

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Maybe by demonstrating them on **the guy we're capturing**?!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** No, it's absolutely necessary.

 **Chabashira Tenko:**...Okay?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** And Gonta-kun's new bug container, and my keyboard!

 **Gokuhara Gonta:** Do you need help with that?

**Received Aikido Master's Training Dummies.**

**Received Entomologist's Bug Container.**

**Received Pianist's Keyboard.**

* * *

**Akamatsu Kaede:** I need a way to compare you two as detectives.

 **Saihara Shuuichi:**...what?

 **Kirigiri Kyouko:** Why.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** To win over Kamukura.

 **Kirigiri Kyouko:** How is this relevant?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Because we need to figure out more details about the note, so we can figure out what to prepare for.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** _(Nice lie...!)_

 **Kirigiri Kyouko:** I'll start looking at any fingerprint or soil samples to collect.

 **Saihara Shuuichi:** I'll do a handwriting analysis.

**Received Comparison Notes on the Two Detectives.**

* * *

**Angie Yonaga:** You need an art piece?

 **Yumeno Himiko:** And, I'm guessing a magic show?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:**...yes.

 **Toujou Kirumi:** We don't know what you're planning, but, we'll help. 

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Thank you!

**Received Artist's Sculpture.**

**Received Magician's Staff.**

**Received Maid's Services.**

* * *

**Harukawa Maki:** So?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Please bring lots of weapons.

 **Harukawa Maki:** I thought you were going to ask something weirder.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Toy weapons.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** There's the weird part.

 **Harukawa Maki:** Do... do you want me to fight Kamukura with toy weapons...??

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** No, you can have real weapons for that, you just also need to be able to play with the kids.

 **Harukawa Maki:** But why?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Because you're a daycare worker.

**Received Assassin's Weaponry.**

**Received Daycare Worker's Toys.**

* * *

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Kokichi.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Yeah? 

**Akamatsu Kaede:** I need you to help me.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** It's easy to trick someone who wholeheartedly believes in despair, but... someone cynical and bored...

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** I don't know how to reach someone like that. But I think you can.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Hmm, so all you need is my help with the charming? Sure.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** It'll be super simple!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Thank you!

**Kaede smiles, before getting an idea.**

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Oh, but you don't look very leader-like in this... 

**Ouma Kokichi:**?

 **Ouma Kokichi:** I mean, I think I still have some stuff if that helps?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Great!

**Received Supreme Leader's Hat and Cape.**

* * *

**Third Day**

* * *

"Okay, I know I've been acting very confusing, but I finally found the best way to explain it," Kaede told the others at the breakfast table the next morning. "If we're not too sure about overcoming his physical abilities, we can try and win him over through, well, persuasion."

"And this involves me in this outfit how?" Rantarou asked.

"I'm getting there," Kaede promised. "I mean, all we know about him is that he's bored of everything and has a bunch of talents. But not _our_ talents. That means that _we_ have something new to him."

Kaede smiled.

"We have to show him we're unpredictable. That's how we'll win."

Standing up, she asked, "are you ready to hear the plan?"

The answer was an extraordinary roar of approval.

* * *

**Despair Mission: Kamukura Izuru START!**

* * *

Kamukura showed up to the shore where Saionji's boat had been docked before... 

**> SHSL Trapper**

He noticed the bear traps hidden under the sand...

"Arranged diagonally in intercrossing lines... then the only safe spots are...'

Then, lasers fired at him from above! The robot's fire was backed up by a mage dropping sleeping gas bombs on him!

**> SHSL Gymnast**

He flipped away from the strike, dodging into the water!

**> SHSL Swimmer**

Kamukura swam through the waves like a shark, making his way to the other side of the beach. 

He climbed up, naturally avoiding the traps in the sand!

" **Go! Hero Robot Mark Guyver**!"/" **Priest Robot Doctor VonGerolt**!"/" **Sage Robot Hannibal X**!"/" **Mage Robot Black Suspirian**!"

"How boring..." Kamukura said as the four giant robots descended upon him with more sleeping gas bombs.

**> SHSL Underwater Diver**

He held his breath as he ran from the fumes...

**> SHSL Musician**

His ears picked up the sound of an arrow sent at him from above!

**> SHSL Dancer + SHSL Knife Catcher**

Kamukura moved quickly, catching the arrow as he hopped from safe spot to safe spot. 

**> SHSL Dart Thrower**

Sending an arrow up, he pierced through Masaru's robot's weak spot!

The robot lurched, before beginning to recover, but...!

**> SHSL Track and Fielder**

Jumping higher than any human could, Kamukura grabbed onto the drill robot's foot!

**> SHSL Rock Climber**

Kamukura began to climb up towards his arrow...

Kiibo shot more lasers at him to get him off! The others aimed their weapons at him, but...!

**> SHSL Martial Artist**

Kamukura dodged the attacks by jumping off! The only one who got hit by the strike was the Hero Robot!

**> SHSL Boxer**

Kamukura landed on the Priest Robot's shoulders, punching off its head in one strike! He jumped off!

It began to fall, pinning the Sage Robot down with the Hero Robot, when both exploded...! It took the Sage Robot down instantly!

The Mage Robot aimed sleeping bombs directly at him in midair! 

Himiko dropped sleeping bombs on him from above! And Kiibo was still shooting lasers at him!

**> SHSL Freefaller**

Kamukura changed his stance, moving to fall faster! He fell under their shots, but still towards the Mage Robot! 

He kicked through the robot's centre parts, causing it to stumble in midair! 

Kamukura caught onto the edge of the hole he made, climbing back up the giant robot!

"I can't fire without destroying it like Masaru-kun's!" Kiibo screamed. "I'm leaving it to you, Himiko-san!"

Himiko nodded, hanging upside down from a glider with handcuffs like she had to combat Saionji.

"On it!" Himiko declared, only to realize something.

In the span of time they had been talking, Izuru had disappeared, and the Mage Robot was suddenly lacking a head...

**> SHSL Ninja**

"Ah...!" Kamukura grabbed her by the hands and pulled himself up! She began an unstable descent, dropping her slingshot as she fell!

"Himiko-san!" Kiibo screamed, before Kamukura struck at him.

**> SHSL Swordsman**

Using one of the parts he had broken off the other robots, Kamukura attacked! Kiibo defended himself with his sword arm, the two having a clash of swords in midair!

"Go...!" Himiko cheered, unlocking her handcuffs and using her massive hat like a makeshift parachute to slow her fall.

"Himiko, over here!" Miu screamed, extending her robot arms to catch the magician from one standing building's open window.

**> SHSL Musician + SHSL Gymnast**

Hearing that cry, Kamukura broke through Kiibo's defences, using a kick off of the robot's chest to propel himself towards the window.

"Now!" Maki screamed.

She and Shuuichi shot sleeping dart after sleeping dart at Kamukura, but...!

He landed on his feet with no fanfare and no applause. Not a single scratch was on him... 

The two snipers were defended by Gonta and Tenko, but it didn't take much time for Kamukura to stop them.

Maki struck at him from behind, and Kamukura simply dodged, not even bothering to retaliate. Miu was defending Himiko and Shuuichi from him...

Kamukura made his way across the floor. Half the building had been destroyed, leaving only a few meters between the window and the broken edge of the floor... He stared down at the street a floor below...

And then, he heard clapping.

"Congratulations, Kamukura! You've passed!"

"...?"

The Enoshima imposter smiled up at him, continuing to wave him over.

"You've proven yourself interesting! Come on, now it's our turn!"

Kamukura looked closer. It seemed like... there was a table set up in the middle of the street?

She took off her wig...

"Come on. Don't you want to see how unpredictable we can be?"


	40. Chapter 40

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO I FINALLY FOUND AN EXCUSE TO USE THE JUNKAEDE ART AND ITS IN CHAPTER 25 NOW BECAUSE I DIDNT THINK OF THIS SOONER GOSH

"Please, have a seat," Kirumi instructed, not even reacting to Kamukura dropping down before her.

"We'll take care of each of your needs," Rantarou promised, wearing the most upstanding of butler costumes.

Kaede took her seat next to Kokichi, gesturing for Kamukura to do the same.

Kamukura sat, immediately being served tea and sweets by Kirumi.

"What are your intentions?" Kamukura asked blatantly. 

"To win you over," Kaede answered with a smile. 

"You want some?" Kokichi asked, eyeing his sweets.

Kamukura watched their surroundings...

The others gathered around, far enough to seem disassociated, close enough to be both in eye's view and away from the traps on the shore.

"You know, I've heard you had over a thousand talents," Kaede said, "but I never heard of you having any hobbies. Got any?"

Kamukura stared at her flatly.

"No."

"Friends?"

"No."

"Anything that interests you?"

"There is something that has the potential to be interesting," Kamukura stated.

"Oi, don't say something so flirty while eyeing my girlfriend!" Kokichi yelled, shoving a macaron at Kamukura's mouth.

Kamukura caught his wrist without even looking. Kokichi whined, something the red-eyed man ignored.

"They're not drugged or anything," Kaede told the long-haired man, "though they're delicious enough to make you think it. It won't hurt to try it."

Kamukura paused.

"Who knows? It might be good," Kokichi said with a grin.

"It's a vanilla macaron with coconut sprinkles," Kamukura stated. "It will taste sweet, with undercurrents of coconut."

"And?" Kaede replied. "It's still tasty."

Kamukura gave her a flat look, before eating the macaron and releasing Kokichi. He went back to his seat.

"Geez, got a grip like Iron Man," Kokichi joked, shaking his hand around.

"Here, I got an ice pack," Rantarou said, offering it to Kokichi.

"Thanks, Ran-chan!"

"Is there anything else I might do to make this more comfortable for you, Kamukura-kun?" Kirumi asked.

"No."

"I will wait until I am called," Kirumi stated, returning to her post by the tea set.

"That's the SHSL Maid for you!" Kaede announced happily. She smiled at Kamukura.

"..."

"You know, it's surprising. When Shuuichi-kun said you had so many talents, I thought you were capable of everything," Kaede said, taking a pause to sip her tea. "But then he said you didn't have _our_ talents. I suppose even you have your limits."

Kokichi stretched his arms out casually, the signal for everyone else to move.

"Or maybe it's that people are more surprising than you'd think?" Kaede asked with a sly grin.

Tenko smashed through a training dummy with a technique she had created herself.

"Even if you're good at all forms of martial arts, Tenko-chan made a new one you haven't heard of yet."

Angie and Jataro used the rubble of the surrounding buildings to make a monument to the future.

"Even if you know the techniques, art is something that is unique to the artist."

Kaito taught Nagisa about the stars with a flourish. Maki and Shuuichi played a game with Masaru, Gonta was teaching Kotoko about bugs, and Monaka was getting a piggyback ride from Kiibo.

"The result of multiple people working together is even more unique, you know?" Kaede told him.

Himiko jumped off the edge, flying with Kirumi's handmade glider, held down by Korekiyo's rope and directed by Miu.

Kaede put Miu's sketchbook and Korekiyo's notebook on the table.

"Even if you think people aren't interesting, they'll continue to make new things. Even if you think you know everything, we are always learning more and more, about the stars, about past cultures, about insects, about ourselves, about this world!"

Placing her notes on the two detectives on top of that, she added, "and, even in domains like investigation, there's always new and different methods coming out, so the field is always changing."

"This is enough to be deemed interesting?" Kamukura asked.

"Well," Kokichi started off, adjusting his hat, "what are your other options?"

Kamukura eyed him cautiously.

"I probably worded that wrong," Kokichi said with an innocent smile befitting his title as _'the demon of Naegi Makoto's angel-demon enforcers.'_ "It's not like I'm asking _'what do you have to lose,'_ because what do you even have in the first place?"

Kokichi shrugged as he ate another pastry.

"Do you even believe in despair? Or do you just think that it _'wasn't boring'_ like us?" Kokichi asked, getting up from his chair to smile closer to Kamukura.

"..."

Himiko flew overhead, the resulting draft causing Kokichi's cape to billow out behind him.

"You don't have any allies, any friends, or any home to go back to, you know!" Kokichi declared, throwing his arms wide. "That's already a huge chunk of nothing in your life!"

"It's completely your choice," Kaede reassured Kamukura, assured in her knowledge that everyone, _everyone_ had left their communicators and handbooks in the van. "But we can offer you what each other member of SHSL Despair got."

Kaede paused, smiling as Kirumi refilled her teacup.

"But, well, if you're not interested..." Kokichi trailed off.

"Is it a chance for redemption?" Kamukura asked.

"Woah, bingo!" Kokichi said with a gasp. "No wonder you're famous for being good at just about everything."

"Would that be interesting?" Kaede asked. "The chance to be able to make friends, learn more, make a home for yourself, turn back on despair?"

"Or are you interested in other things?" Kokichi asked. "Drugs, sex, memory restoration, alcohol?"

"Kokichi-kun, what are you saying, you..." Rantarou grumbled from his post with Kirumi. Kirumi nudged him, because butlers were not rude to their masters until after ten years of service.

"You obviously want me to ask about the memory restoration," Kamukura noted.

"Well, you can figure it out yourself with that attitude," Kokichi retorted.

"Kokichi," Kaede said exasperatedly. 

"C'mon, he's obviously too good for us, our sweets, and our offer, sweetheart," Kokichi said, pressing a macaron to Kaede's lips. "Why bother? If he wants to keep being bored without friends and good food, let him!"

Kaede pouted as she ate the sweet...

"What in your life is worth not coming with us?" Kokichi asked. "What could you possibly want so bad that you're willing to subject yourself to a boring existence for it?"

"The battle between hope and despair... I want to see which one will triumph," Kamukura answered.

"We captured every other despair," Kaede pointed out, before Kirumi reminded her to wipe her face free of crumbs. "I mean, the only other thing to do is to see whether or not we can succeed in converting their despair into hope."

Kamukura stared at them for a second, before spotting the others moving...?

Kaede stood, offering her hand to Kamukura.

"Are you coming?"

"..."

"I mean, we're already getting ready to leave," Kokichi pointed out, directing Kamukura's attention to Angie and the others carrying their things to the van.

"Excuse me," Rantarou interjected, putting away the remaining sweets. Kirumi began collecting their cutlery and emptying their teacups on the ground...

"We'll need to collect the table too," Kirumi stated.

"Geez, I thought we'd get him!" Kokichi whined. 

"Well, it's too bad..." Kaede replied, sighing as she tossed the wig on the ground behind her. "I suppose we'll have to say we failed..."

They went off together, helping Rantarou and Kirumi load the chairs and tables into the van.

Kamukura stared at the wig for a few moments...

"Even if I know what's coming... it might still be interesting," Kamukura said to himself quietly, "because it might open the door to other things.

Trampling over the wig, he began to run towards the Future Foundation building, scaring the crap out of Kaito. Because Kaito was on a motorcycle, riding his way back with everyone minus Shuuichi (driving the van) and the kids (in the van with the stuff), and he didn't realize Kamukura could _keep up with motorcycles now._

* * *

**SHSL Despair Capture — 100% SUCCESS!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> driver rankings, for fun!
> 
> good: kaito, angie, ryoma, kirumi*, kiibo, shuuichi
> 
> crazy driver: kaede, kokichi, gonta (hands too big), tenko (panics), himiko (bored), korekiyo, maki (not good at video games), miu (speeds)
> 
> NO. NEVER AGAIN: rantarou
> 
> * absolutely insane if the vehicle in question is a motorcycle.
> 
> so yeah, thats about it, im thinking one last main chapter and then four bonus chapters to wrap this story up! lol!


	41. Chapter 41

And then everything was peaceful and calm, they were celebrated as heroes, and everyone lived in peace.

Not.

Tenko's birthday party for everyone was _supposed_ to be a small affair. Only a few people were invited, among them were Yuuta, Toko, and Komaru.

It ended with having to pull Toko out of the massive cake, scolding the kids for playing with Izayoi's gift of a crate of weapons, Kaede playing battle music, and the Asahina siblings destroying everyone at ping pong.

Then they got the celebration for their efforts to fall in the days between Gonta's birthday and Maki's birthday, so that Gonta could have a gentleman's party and Maki could drink alcohol for her twentieth birthday.

They didn't have formal clothes, but they thought it was pretty okay since supplies were limited, but then Andou informed them that many materials were recovered from the various despair hideouts they encountered along the way. Some of which were quality cloth from Nevermind. With that in mind, they decided to let Tsumugi make them some sort of cosplay formalwear.

During the course of this, three different people attempted to kill Tsumugi, and Tsumugi attempted to strangle at least four with her measuring tape. Angie was a repeat offender.

Well, they somehow managed to get fancy clothes, though Tsumugi had to suddenly add a checkered scarf to Kaede's ballgown for some reason, so it was supposed to be fine then, right? They got Toko, Yuuta, and Komaru to babysit the kids since the kids were still uncomfortable around most adults, they were well-dressed, and all of them had agreed not to drink unless they wanted to disappoint Kaede.

It was going to be _fine_ , was what they thought up until Munakata tried to arrest Makoto at the party.

This involved a sword, by the way.

A sword and arrest in the fancy dining hall quite naturally raised a fuss, and Kaede was tired of fusses being raised. So she marched up to Munakata, drink held firmly in one hand, as the other hand slapped Munakata in the face.

She might have accidentally drank some alcohol, by the way. It was very hard to tell the difference between the sparkling water and the champagne tables.

When Munakata accused her of defending a traitor, Kokichi stepped in.

"Do you have working ears at all?" he demanded. "What my Kaede is saying is that you're _outright barbaric."_

He then started to list off all the problems with arresting someone at a celebration, the others joining in to help make the strike more effective.

"We've just succeeded in capturing all the despairs, asshole!" Miu screamed. 

"We've put our lives and safety on the line for this organization!" Kirumi added.

"To think the second-in-command of the Future Foundation is so brash and reckless..." Shuuichi sighed.

"Gonta will get mad if you accuse his friends! Gonta will defend his friends from your baseless accusations!"

"Couldn't you have picked any other day?!" Tenko demanded. "It's a celebration!"

"Really, really, to think you'd risk angering _us..._ " Angie trailed off, glaring.

"We're the team that captured the despairs in a few months," Korekiyo stated. "Can you really risk turning us against you? Kukuku..."

"I did not jump off an airship for you to just ruin our big night!" Himiko yelled.

"Not only that, but we've helped rescue the despairs' prisoners, reduced the air pollution, and discovered the weak points of the Monokuma bots," Kiibo stated.

"What's going on with this upper management?" Ryoma asked. "Are all of you like this?"

"If you want a fight, we'll take you on," Kaito promised.

"All of us," Maki added.

Now, all of this alone was enough for some serious opinion-swaying.

Regardless of one's opinion on Makoto and treason, one had to admit, they had a point. They _did_ accomplish all that. They _did_ put their lives on the line multiple times. They _were_ dangerously efficient. And the leaders were being brash and reckless, which brought up some serious questions about the leadership...

So when it was suggested that Munakata's actions might put him at odds with the elite team that captured the despairs, there was some serious consideration amongst the crowd about which side they would support.

And then Rantarou spoke up.

"Actually, all of us except for Kaede-san. We can't have her hurting the baby."

This was kind of like seeing an enemy with low health and deciding to shoot him with a barrage of missiles, by the way.

Those words destroyed the last shards of Munakata's status as a threat to them, because there was no way he could do anything in return without him and his entire faction being labelled as the assholes who made a pregnant lady risk her life for them and then ruined her chance at having a fun, peaceful night out of hotheadedness.

So they managed to get Munakata to back off, with three drawbacks.

1) Kokichi scolded the hell out of Kaede for that when they got home.

2) Now the entire Future Foundation thought Kaede was pregnant.

3) They managed to get a place at Makoto's trial. Fifteen of them, to be specific.

The moment Monokuma showed up on the screen, Maki, Tenko, and Gonta destroyed the monitor. 

They noped their way out of an entire second killing game, because the moment distress signals went off, Kotoko broke them out with her robot. 

And then Tengan was fired.

So, anyways, they got to actually speak up at the retrial and discuss reforming the despairs.

It should be noted that Kokichi and Kaede were there. The pair who, even without the reputation bonus of being leaders of the team that captured the despairs, were _absolute overkill_ if both of them were trying to convince the same target to do the same thing.

"I'm not saying that you should forgive them," Kokichi said, "but think! If you kill them, then, just like how they persisted after Enoshima's death, the other followers will still believe! If you want to end the tragedy, start with preventing another despair from sprouting!"

"Death lets them become martyrs!" Kaede added. "But, if they were reformed, and look upon their acts with horror and guilt, what sort of message would that send to anyone else who acts in despair?!"

"Come on, use your heads!"

"You want to end the tragedy, don't you?!"

So, anyways, Makoto turned out fine. He was in charge of rehabilitating the despairs with Miaya.

The Despair Capture Movement group, though, didn't actually have a job anymore. Like, yeah, they were heroes, but they weren't interested in being paid for sitting around. So when Makoto asked them to help out as around-the-clock guards for the Neo World Program, they were fine with it. They could learn more about the despairs and where the bodies of their loved ones were. It was easy work, since who would mess with a bunch of pods? They were being paid to watch screens for a while and keep people from breaking in.

Well, they weren't told that they also got to design the teacher AI, which, was... interesting....??

"I mean... cuter is better," Maki said, pulling from her experience with _children_. Actual _literal children_.

"It's gotta be tough, so it can stop the students from doing anything wrong!" Tenko added.

"It should have magic!" Himiko declared. "A flying magical girl!"

"If not a bug, then a rabbit!" Gonta suggested.

"...sure," Miaya said flatly through her screen. Just in case, she took the adaptive AI that took the form of everyone's ideal and made another one in the teacher's role, because... she was seriously hearing the elite team that took down the despairs suggest a fighting magical baby-talking bunny rabbit for a teacher. 

There was another thing they were not told about in advance.

"Why are you here," Kokichi demanded flatly.

"Presenting a lesson on memory-altering techniques," Tsumugi stated.

"Tsumugi-chan isn't allowed to touch the computers directly," Kaede reassured her husband from her computer chair. "She can only tell us what to do, and every time she comes here, there needs to be people escorting her."

"That would be me and Kirumi this time around," Kaito added.

Kokichi sighed and was very reluctant about Tsumugi. So he hugged Kaede's back, watching over her shoulder as she familiarized herself with the technology.

And then a message popped up on the screen.

"...eh?" Kaede said...

"That wasn't me," Tsumugi said instantly. "I didn't even touch it."

"Shit, open the pods!" Kaito screamed.

"Th-the computer isn't responding!" Kaede yelled back. "I can't activate the forced shutdown!"

"Dammit, why do these things keep happening to us?!" Kirumi demanded. "Can't we have a normal job for once?!"

"...Kamukura, you _asshole_ ," Kokichi cursed, glaring at the screen.

_'Let the real game begin.'_


	42. Bonus: The Return of the Oumatsu Theatre! Feat. Guests!

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Hi there! Welcome to the short segment where we discuss unused scenes and such!

 **Ouma Kokichi:** This time, dun dun daaah, we have... Ran-chan!

 **Amami Rantarou:** Hey!

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** I'm also here.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Welcome!

 **Amami Rantarou:**...

 **Ouma Kokichi:**...

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** Just to be clear, I don't know why I'm here.

 **Amami Rantarou:** I don't know either. 

**Ouma Kokichi:** Kaede, what did you do.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** It wasn't me! Tsumugi-chan's here so she can shed some light on some cool things about the simulation! It wasn't me!

 **Ouma Kokichi:**...Shirogane, if you do anything, do it to Ran-chan. Leave me and my girlfriend alone.

 **Amami Rantarou:** WOW. AFTER ALL THE HARD WORK I DID, DRIVING TO SAVE YOU FROM SAIONJI.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** You crashed the van into a wall!

 **Amami Rantarou:** Out of concern and friendship.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** You're dating?

 **Ouma Kokichi:**...

 **Amami Rantarou:**...

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Eh? You didn't know?

 **Amami Rantarou:** Well, she _was_ in a coma when you guys made it official...

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** Also, I'm too used to shipping one of you two with Saihara-kun.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Eh. How. Why.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** Akamatsu-san and Saihara-kun had such a natural bond... him carrying on after her death, her inspiring him to become the protagonist...

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** And, well, Ouma-kun usually chased after anyone in the protag role, even when it was handed to people like Chabashira-san and Iruma-san, but the liar and the detective together... chasing after the true person behind that smile... it's wonderful, isn't it?

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** I wonder, though... I always killed Akamatsu-san off early so she could never interfere again. Did Ouma-kun chase after the protag role because it was her role the first time around?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** I have no idea what you're saying.

 **Amami Rantarou:** I do, since I watched them all.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** Huh?! Really?!

 **Amami Rantarou:** But it's not important, so let's move on to the actual unused scenes.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** Hey—!

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Well, it's more _'kind of different_ ' scenes, since most of them actually made the cut this time.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** In fact, the only unused art is just an alternate Enoshima disguise CG!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Thank you for making it possible, Tsumugi-chan!

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** A-ah... um, y-you're welcome?

 **Ouma Kokichi:** The buddy system was actually less important than first planned... it was originally supposed to involve everyone having a best friend who would play a major role in capturing the despair that wronged them.

 **Amami Rantarou:** But, of course, Kaede-san doesn't have one, Shirogane is in jail, and, well, Korekiyo-kun.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Korekiyo-kun's most important relationship is with Angie-chan, but they aren't really _friends_ , are they? 

**Ouma Kokichi:** The intended pairs were _'Me + Ran-chan', 'Angie-chan + Rumi-chan', 'Tenko-chan + Shuu-chan', 'Miu-chan + Maki-chan', 'Miko-chan + Gonta-chan',_ along with a _'Kiibo-chan + Kaito-chan + Ryoma-chan'_ trio.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** Huh, wow. I can see Gokuhara-kun and Yumeno-san, but not some of the others.

 **Amami Rantarou:** That's because you need to separate fiction from reality.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Oooooh, nice!

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** Was I brought here just to be insulted?! 

**Akamatsu Kaede:** Himiko-chan was going to use the insect attack against Tanaka's animals, letting Gonta-kun take out Tanaka by himself, but then Tanaka was added to the lineup of those on the front lines of the despair attack. Maki-chan would repay Miu-chan by dealing the final blow to Kamukura, but it's hard to imagine anyone landing a blow on him in the first place...

 **Amami Rantarou:** When you look at it, it's more group takedowns than anything. I didn't even do anything to help with Saionji.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** That's not true! You rushed to save us, and you getting Saionji away from her guards let Kokichi set up the final blow in the kitchen!

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Don't worry! Even if you're useless, you're still our avocado man!

 **Amami Rantarou:** Thanks, I think. 

**Shirogane Tsumugi:** What is this friendship...

 **Amami Rantarou:** It's me dealing with this gremlin.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** It's me dealing with this playboy.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Wow. I'm beginning to think you guys are more suited to each other than I thought.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** Hmmm... my most popular ship for Amami-kun was with Akamatsu-san, but I can suddenly see the appeal of Oumami...

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Huh?! What are you doing?!

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Hey, what do you mean, Kaede and Ran-chan?! Excuse me?!

 **Amami Rantarou:** No, first of all, that won't work at all...

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Yeah, 'cuz of Rumi-chan! Don't just think I go good with this pierced avocado man when I'm gonna marry Kaede!

 **Amami Rantarou:** H-hey, why are you bringing Kirumi-san up now?!

 **Ouma Kokichi:** You think I'm blind or something?! Anyone can see that _that_ is not just idle conversation!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Let's just... move on...

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** Huh? Marriage? Is that why?

 **Amami Rantarou:** What?

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** Akamatsu-san's dress was the same as her **canon Argument Armament art**... so I was stunned when I had to add a scarf to it. Especially one that clashed with the huge bow on the chest... the only reason you'd wear a scarf to something like that is if there was something on your neck—

 **Amami Rantarou:**...

 **Ouma Kokichi:**...

 **Akamatsu Kaede:**...

 **Amami Rantarou:** Ignoring that.

 **Amami Rantarou:** There were two different unused scenes where... Kaede-san was... drugged....? The first was her being in Miu-san's place during the attack on the Future Foundation, then instead, she was going to... accidentally eat the drugged macaron....?

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Hey, wait, what? Why? What?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** There's a reason, okay?! It's because I'm the leader, so it's obviously bad if I get shot with anything during an attack! But sheer willpower would get me through, but then it was funnier to have it be Miu-chan...

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** And the macaron?

 **Akamatsu Kaede:**...because... Kokichi was t-teasing me, so...

 **Amami Rantarou:** Let's ignore that too. Let's just divide this into things we are addressing and not addressing, and set this firmly in the _'not addressing'_ corner.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Have fun with your emotional repression.

 **Amami Rantarou:** I will.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Oh, and, since the simulation is being used to reform the despairs, would you know anything, Tsumugi-chan?

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** Huh? You're choosing to reform them?

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** After I lured everyone to that building with the promise of **revenge**? How?

 **Ouma Kokichi:**...That's in the past! It's not important!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Wait, that's how everyone was in there...?

 **Amami Rantarou:** I agree with Kokichi-kun, it's not that important.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** What's important is that, well, we're getting sidelined next time~!

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** Eh.

 **Ouma Kokichi:** That's right! Because the story focuses on the **despair cast** , our roles are delegated to being the panicked support, commentators, and whatnot! We're safe and out of danger! I'm so happy!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** H-hey, wait, why are you blatantly staring at me?!

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Because I love you!

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** Urgh.... how disgustingly sweet...

 **Amami Rantarou:** Get used to it. For whatever reason, you're in it too.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** Can I just go back to jail?

 **Amami Rantarou:** Nope. Suffer with us.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** A-anyways! The protagonist of the next one is—

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** Gwwughhhh...! You're so blindingly affectionate...! I'll die!

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Then die.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** No!

 **Amami Rantarou:** They do this every day.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** We don't!

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Liar.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Aaaaaaaaaaaargh, stop it! It's Mioda Ibuki! The protagonist is Mioda Ibuki, and we are talking about that and not our affection!

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** Huh? Why Mioda-san? For the music?

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Well, no, it's 'cuz everyone screamed over her chapters.

 **Amami Rantarou:** Plus, some people noted the Kokichi-kun/Monaka-chan and Kaede-san/Enoshima parallels, but there are Kokichi-kun/Saionji and Kaede-san/Mioda parallels as well.

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** This has nothing to do with the author's rare ships, by the way. Don't go looking through the author's AO3 account.

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** Urgh, digging up old fanfic is the _worst_ feeling ever...

 **Ouma Kokichi:** Well, that's it for this segment! See you next time!

 **Amami Rantarou:** See ya!

 **Akamatsu Kaede:** Bye!

 **Shirogane Tsumugi:** Good—


	43. Bonus: Name?

"So you're getting married this year?" Shuuichi asked at the breakfast table, doing a crossword puzzle in their downtime.

"Yep! I can't wait any longer!" Kokichi declared. "It's been so dangerous lately that I need to make Kaede mine as soon as possible!"

"Please just think before talking," Kaede begged him.

"I know what I said," Kokichi retorted, making Kaede blush.

"Wow, wow!" Angie cheered. "It's gonna be so fun, hearing people have to go _'Ouma-kun, Ouma-san'_ in the halls!"

"Eh? But it's gonna be Akamatsu-kun?" Kokichi stated.

"...huh?" Shuuichi replied.

* * *

"...huh?" Kaede had asked that morning, wondering if she had heard right, considering that they had just woken up. "Did you say that you're taking _my_ last name?"

"If you don't mind!" Kokichi declared sweetly.

"I mean, I don't," Kaede clarified. "I'm just curious as to why."

"Hmm, I think Akamatsu is a pretty name," Kokichi stated, before his eyes went somber. "And I'd rather pass on your family name than mine."

"...Kokichi?"

Kokichi gave her the expression she had long learned to associate with him struggling to be honest.

"I don't like that I got that name from my dad of all people," he confessed, "but it was cool and sounded evil, you know? That's why I didn't make up a pseudonym."

And then he smiled just for her.

"But I don't need that mask anymore. I've got you."

Kaede blushed.

"Okay. Akamatsu Kokichi," she said softly. "My parents and sister would be happy to meet you. They'd love to welcome you."

Kokichi laughed in response.

"Sure, if you say so."


	44. Bonus: ?????????

_"Master, is this really what you want?"_ a voice asked from a laptop. _"I'm not at full strength... I mean, I couldn't have been, considering that you had only one half of the circuitboard... even if you patch me up, take the old code and rewrite it, I still can't be that strong."_

"Stop talking," Kamukura ordered.

 _"Master...! I'm just worried, you know,"_ the AI said. _"The instructions you gave me... you realize that I'm just a computer program, right? I can determine the effect my actions will have on systems and people, I can make calculations to maximize my impact, but... I can't tell which result is considered 'wrong' or 'right'."_

"You can't be worried," Kamukura stated. "You're just a machine. A fabricated human."

 _"So are you,"_ the program said.

Kamukura stayed silent.

 _"Master... won't this hurt people?"_ she asked. _"My mission is to make chaos, but... you made me able to feel compassion. Empathy. Won't I hurt people?"_

"It doesn't matter. Do as you're told," Kamukura ordered.

 _"Is this really worth it?!"_ she demanded. _"Is getting your memories back really worth the risk of me making everyone revert?!"_

He stayed silent.

 _"Master!"_ she screamed. _"Answer me!"_

Kamukura went to shut the laptop.

He only paused for a moment at the AI girl's spaceship hairclip.

"...the only face I remember isn't even my own," he mused to himself in the now-silent room.

He let out a soft sigh.

"...how boring..."

 _'When their attempts to recover are thrown into disarray, which one will emerge? My previous hopeful memories, or their memories of despair...?'_ he wondered, thinking of how long he would have to wait to see.


	45. Bonus: A Greeting's Your First Step Forward!

Ibuki remembered it, sometimes.

How she would greet a crowd with screams and be met with cheers and approval.

But that was a while ago.

Now...

"Good morning, Fuyu-chan!"

The Yakuza got up and walked away.

Ibuki hesitated, then saw movement in the other room.

"Good morning, Hiyo—"

She walked away...

"Good morning—"

Sonia scoffed....

"Good—" 

Tanaka ignored her...

"Good morning to you too," a new voice said, and Ibuki froze.

Junko slung an arm over the former musician's shoulders, smiling widely.

"Oh? Am I the only one to talk to you today? Must be because someone isn't a despair yet."

Ibuki gritted her teeth.

"One day, they'll listen," she swore. "They'll realize how bad this is, and they'll finally turn back from your despair...!"

"Hmm, maybe," Junko admitted. "But they'd have to listen to you first."

"Ibuki won't give up," she promised. "She won't ever, _ever_ give up...!"

"If you say so," Junko said in response. "But, you know? You might crack sooner than you thought."

Junko whistled, and Kazuichi wheeled in...

"...no..." Ibuki gasped.

"This is all your fault," Junko stated, picking up the body of one of Ibuki's former band members. She used the body like a puppet, making it seem as if she were saying those words... "Because you didn't give up like a good little girl... they killed me!"

"Who's next?" asked the drummer. "The friends you don't have?"

"Who's next?" asked the bassist. "The family that doesn't care?"

"You have no one," said the despair. "You're the loneliest person in the world."

Ibuki...

...began to cry.

"You can't leave. We won't let you. You can't die," Junko promised. "The only thing you can do is give up."

Her friends... no, the members of SHSL Despair entered the room, surrounding Ibuki...

"You're hated by the world for associating with us. Why not become a despair? We'd accept you then. You can't sink much lower, can you?"

Ibuki... 

"Good morning, Mioda-chan!" Mahiru said. "I loved your playing that last time!"

"Mornin', Mioda!" Nekomaru exclaimed. "Wanna join in on some training?"

"G-Good morning, Mioda-san..." Mikan said with a smile.

They all acknowledged her existence... they all turned to her and smiled, for the first time in all the months Ibuki had been trapped in their hideout...!

"C'mon, don't be an idiot," Fuyuhiko urged her.

"There's nowhere left for you to go," Hiyoko stated.

"Be one of us."

"Be our friend."

"Maybe you can save us."

"Mioda-san."

"Come with us."

"Join us."

"Make us smile once again."

Ibuki.... 

* * *

"Mmm...? It's so bright..." 

Ibuki woke up on the ground, a blue sky stretching out before her.

"There are better places to take a nap than the ground, you know."

Looking up, Ibuki saw...!

"Come on. Take my hand. We'll be late for class."


End file.
